School census shows

School census shows

drop in students By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON Rappahannock News Staff Writer The recently completed school census shows a continued decline in the number of school aged children in Rappahannock, a trend that was evident in the U.S. censuses for 1970 and 1980. However, the number of those 19 years old and under counted by the school enumerators this year -1,222 — falls far short of the 1,801 in the same age range counted by U.S. census takers six years ago. The identical group can be used for comparison by looking at one age range for 1980 and then increasing that range by six years for 1986. U.S. census takers going door-to-door in 1980 counted 1,051 children 12 years and younger. Six years later, school enumerators — who were also supposed to have gone doorto-door -counted just 930 young people between the ages of six and 18. That’s a decline of 12 percent for that segment of the population, and comes at a time when the provisional estimate from the University of Virginia’s Tayloe Murphy Institute shows no change in the county’s population as a whole between 1980 and 1985. Superintendent Robert Estabrook announced the school census totals at the school board’s meeting on August 12. According to the superintendent’s summary, enumerators working by districts throughout the county reported 34 children one year old and younger, 44 two-year-olds, 30 three-year-olds, 52 four-yearolds, 60 five-year-olds, 59 sixyear-olds, 67 seven-year-olds, 60 eight-year-olds, 72 nine-yearolds, 56 ten-year-olds, 66 elevenyear-olds, 80 twelve-year-olds, 72 thirteen-year-olds, 69 fourteenyear-olds, 80 fifteen-year-olds, 91 sixteen-year-olds, 73 seventeenyear-olds, 85 eighteen-year-olds and 72 nineteen-year-olds. The 1,222 total reached by school enumerators represents a 12 percent drop from the 1,398 counted in the 1983 school census. While the number of children appears to have dropped, judging from school census results, the number of handicapped children has increased. In 1983, school census enumerators counted 113 handicapped between the ages of one year and 21, the age span for which state and federal law madates services from the schools. That number increased by 15 percent to 131 in the 1986 school census. The breakdown shows 10 emotionally disturbed,Two hearing impaired, 44 learning disabled, 16 mentally retarded, three multiply handicapped, three physically handicapped and 53 speech impaired.