In schools of the future, textbooks could disappear and snow days could be virtual school days — and the future isn’t far off, North Muskegon Superintendent Curt Babcock said.

North Muskegon High School is one of a few Muskegon County schools pioneering “one-to-one” initiatives, which assign each student a digital device, such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone. North Muskegon uses netbook laptops.

Some teachers put up questions related to their lessons online, and some provide links explaining a concept in different ways, because students have different learning styles, he said. They also have software that allows them to control all of the student netbooks in their classrooms. That can help them get a distracted student back on task, or allow them to share an interesting educational site one student found with the rest of the class, Babcock said.

Babcock said North Muskegon plans to eventually stop buying textbooks, instead using more interactive online texts. The laptops also could spell the end of snow days, since students will be able go online for their classes.

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For the second consecutive year, Kentwood Public Schools saw a triple-digit increase in students, up 121 to 8,816. Last year, it was up 232 students.

“I think we’re headed out of the recession. We’re seeing fewer jobs lost and fewer foreclosures,” said Superintendent Scott Palczewski, who said families are also drawn to the district’s diversity and increased use of technology. “People are looking for those skills they’ll need to thrive in a global economy, and working in a diverse environment is important.”

Hudsonville Superintendent Nick Ceglarek said the continued housing growth along the M-6 corridor was a factor in his district seeing the biggest spike among area districts, up 150 students to 6,062. Last year, the district had 221 new students. He said growth at the elementary level is attributed to the arrival of new families.

Also along the M-6 corridor, Zeeland Public Schools was up 79 students to 5,804 and Byron Center was up 73 to 3,503 students. Jenison was up 108 students to 4,678, but 60 of those are attributed to its new virtual school, the Jenison International Academy.

Caledonia only saw a little growth, adding 14 more students for a tally of 4,223, while Kelloggsville was down 26 to 2,304 and Grandville lost 103 students, falling to 5,722.

“We pared back on school choice and there are also fewer students coming in than in years past,” said Grandville Superintendent Ron Caniff.

Wyoming Public Schools also saw a triple-digit loss, down 138 to 4,696. But that’s largely attributed to eliminating shared services programs with six schools. West Ottawa was down 173 students to 7,310, but neighboring Holland gained 99 students to rise to 4,209.

“Our schools of choice is up 30 percent from last year,” said Holland Superintendent Brian Davis. “We also have more families moving back into the core city.”This is a result of affordable housing and the work that has been done over time to build back neighborhoods across the community.”

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“In 2000, the governor and the legislature passed legislation that called on us to create a virtual school that would serve youth by offering online courses. Since 2004, we have concentrated on K-12 students. We provide options that might not otherwise be available. For instance, in 2000, 45 percent of Michigan schools didn’t offer any AP courses. In that same year, we rolled out 17 advanced placement classes. In a way, we provided an ‘equity blanket’; every school now has access to AP courses. We’re also able to offer seven world language courses and other classes that schools can’t always provide.”

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