With just a few weeks of class behind them, schools in Natchez only had small fluctuations in enrollment for the 2001-02 school year.

Rosa Demby, principal at Holy Family Catholic School, increased her enrollment from 126 at the end of last year to 150 students in August of this year.

&uot;I’m proud of it, and I’m proud that we are steadily growing,&uot; said Demby, who is in her first year as the school’s principal. &uot;I expect great things to happen in our school.&uot;

Trinity Episcopal Day School Principal Dr. Delecia Carey said her school currently has 328 students from kindergarten to 12th-grade.

Last year at this time, the school had 309 students. It reached about 335 students at Christmas and and ended the year with 333, Carey said.

&uot;I can say without hesitation I feel really good about where we are, enrollment-wise,&uot; Carey said.

It’s not uncommon for a few students to move among the various schools in Natchez from year to year, she said.

&uot;There’s a reason there’s three private schools in our community,&uot; she said. &uot;If you’ve got a child unhappy in one place you’re thankful that you have some choices.&uot;

Adams County Christian School has about the same number of students as last year with 658. It had 656 at the end of last year from preschool to 12th-grade.

&uot;We’re just about right,&uot; said Brenda Gousett, the school’s bookkeeper.

About 700 students would probably put the school at its maximum enrollment, Gousett said.

Natchez’s third private school, Cathedral held &uot;pretty steady&uot; in enrollment this year, said Dr. Scott Fleming, principal.

This year 648 students are attending the school, Fleming said.

The school started last year with 662 students and had dropped to 655 by the end of the year, Fleming said.

&uot;I was a little concerned about the 10 that we lost last year,&uot; Fleming said. ‘It seems to have leveled off a little so I’m not too concerned.&uot;

But the Natchez-Adams School District saw a slight decrease in enrollment, reporting 4,854 students in school last week down from just under 5,000 this time last year.

The district ended last year with about 5033 students, said Superintendent Dr. Carl Davis.

But Davis said it is too early for the figures to be finalized especially with children who spend their summers elsewhere.

&uot;Many of those schools will not start back officially until after Labor Day,&uot; Davis said.

So each year some students will not return to school until next week. Officials also needs to determine who moved over the summer, Davis said.

They expect to have complete figures in October, but, meanwhile, they are continuing with school.

&uot;We’re just elated with the number of students that we have in our classes,&uot; Davis said. &uot;We have a place saved for (the ones who are not present), but the ones that we have, we’re teaching them.&uot;

He also attributes the drop to a smaller than usual rising ninth-grade class – only about 290 as opposed to the usual 330, he said.

&uot;This has been the smallest group over the years,&uot; Davis said.

Homeschooling figures are not yet available for this year but 105 in Adams County were homeschooled last year.

Those numbers tend to increase slightly during the year in all counties, said Peggy Peterson, Mississippi director of the office of compulsory school attendance enforcement.

For example, in Adams County last year’s figures started at 92 in September 2000, increased to 106 in January and increased again to 112 in May.

&uot;I guess I’m attributing it to somebody gets disgruntled, somebody gets unhappy with something so they decided to homeschool,&uot; Peterson said.

Across the river in Concordia Parish, La., 48 students were enrolled in homeschool last year.

Other Louisiana officials say numbers are not finalized yet but at this point they report a drop in enrollment.

Huntington School dropped from about 235 this time last year to 206 currently, said Emily Guida, elementary supervisor

She expects the school to enroll additional students but she thinks families moving, homeschooling, movement among schools and economics play a factor.

&uot;I think it’s largely an economic situation,&uot; Guida said. &uot;People are stretched right now as far as they can go.&uot;

The Concordia Parish School District also reported a drop in enrollment with school starting just last week.

&uot;I won’t really get a true picture (until) maybe the Monday after Labor Day,&uot; said Superintendent Dr. Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman.

On Sept. 5, 2000, the district had about 4,020 students including preschool. This year he expects the school to peak at a few more than 3,900, Peterman said.