When Jefferson High School opens its very new, gleaming doors to start the school year on Aug. 27, an estimated 96 freshmen will walk through. That’s up from 91 the year before and from a recent historical average of between 60 and 75 per entering class.
What’s more, school officials anticipate that incoming classes could grow to as many as 115 students in the coming years — testing its newly expanded campus, which can accommodate 360 kids.
What’s going on?
First of all, the number of school-aged children in the county has increased steadily with overall population growth. And area school administrators say more students from the north county schools in Clancy and Montana City, which once sent a majority of their graduates to Helena high schools, are choosing Jefferson instead.
“Our biggest marketing focus has been Montana City,” said JHS principal Mike Moodry. “Where we were capturing 10% of those students, it’s now 25-30%.” Nearly 30 students will attend JHS from Montana City this year, up from 10 in 2018. (Montana City School says the number is somewhat lower.)
In addition, 33 of 38 graduating eighth graders from Clancy Elementary will join the incoming class at JHS, about the same as in 2023 but higher than 2020 and 2022. Most, if not all, of students from Boulder Elementary will go across Main Street to attend JHS.
Those shifts are occurring at a time when Helena schools are in turmoil. The phased opening of East Helena High, beginning in 2019, has drained students
from nearby Helena High, whose population has declined from 1540 to 1100 in that time, according to the state Office of Public Instruction. (Enrollment at Capital High School, located in northwest Helena, has been stable over the years.)
Helena High also has been hit by financial troubles, as deferred maintenance on its buildings have forced administrators to cut operating budgets.
It’s not clear exactly how those trends have affected enrollment at JHS; relatively few Helena residents cross the county line to go to school in Boulder. But numerous parents in the north county communities who once favored Helena schools, especially Helena High, for their proximity now say their calculus has changed.
Those parents say they are attracted to the smaller, more intimate academic environment at JHS; to student activities that are more accessible than at bigger schools; and to a community where nearly everyone is known to each other. .
“Sports get a lot of attention, but the academic programs are also terrific,” said parent Kyrie Russ, herself a JHS graduate and former school trustee whose daughter attended Clancy Elementary and is now enrolled as a sophomore at JHS. “And, all in all, there are really good teachers. [And] JHS has enough AP and honors courses that I feel good about the decision to go to a smaller school.”
Jefferson City parent Aimee Muffick also emphasized the small school environment as a motivating factor for enrolling her daughter, who attended Montana City Elementary, at JHS, after her and her husband’s three older children all graduated from Helena high schools.
The couple’s older children “were in a big sea of kids every day,” said Muffick. “There are more opportunities to get involved at JHS, and all the teachers know the kids. At the bigger schools, you might feel like you have more competition, and JHS felt less intimidating.”
Muffick, like some other parents, also pointed to what they see as a riskier environment at Helena schools. . “We felt it [JHS] was safer than schools in Helena,” said Muffick. “Our perception is that drug use, smoking, and alcohol use aren’t as prevalent in Boulder because the kids are involved in so much and the teachers know them so well. I think a lot of Montana City families are choosing JHS for similar reasons.”
Julie French, a parent from Montana City, transferred two of her children, a junior and a senior, from Helena High to JHS last year due to dissatisfaction with the academic and social environment in Helena. “My daughter transferred as a junior, initially, because she was struggling at school with ADHD. Our son wasn’t thrilled with some of his teachers, and decided to move with his sister. They’ve loved their teachers at Jefferson, and felt they cared more and were more invested,” said French.
But “also, Helena High didn’t align with our family’s values. We’re more conservative, and were uncomfortable with some of the elements of the curriculum and how the school handled certain cultural issues.”
JHS has been experiencing increased enrollment since 2014, when its student population totalled just 204. In a survey of county residents in 2019, it found that the single biggest barrier to north county parents sending their kids to Jefferson was the drive over Boulder Hill. These days, families seem willing to navigate that risk.
