At Memorial School, the monarch butterfly rules.

What began two years ago as a program aimed at getting students interested in science has turned into a source of school district and civic pride.

Teachers and administrators say the Monarch Butterfly Program is an example of how a small, cash-strapped district such as Pitman's can come up with creative ways to inspire students.

With 1,680 students in three elementary schools, a middle school and high school, the district is tiny compared to others in Gloucester County.

Enrollment has dropped by 520 students since 1976, according to Superintendent Robert Campbell.

Because the borough is largely developed, there's little room for additional housing and new families with children. So the district makes do with what it has while struggling with flat state aid.

One initiative was the butterfly program, which started as a classroom project in which students observed the metamorphosis from larvae to winged insect.

They also studied the unique migration habits of the monarch, which journeys to Mexico each winter.

Through the garden, which was paid for by student fund- raisers and the Pitman Education Association, students learn to track the butterflies' migration by tagging their wings. This year, the Memorial School students are partnering with a school in Mexico that has a similar program. The students will exchange letters.

"That's what so exciting for me, not just the educational part, but connections with another country," said Barbara Priggemeier, one of the teachers involved in the project.

The program inspired the Memorial School, attended by students in kindergarten through fifth grade, to changes its logo from a dolphin to a monarch butterfly, Campbell said.

The students raised enough money last year to pay a professional artist to paint a butterfly- themed mural in the hallway of the school's main entrance.

At the district's other schools, the fascination with monarch butterflies has made its way into art and music classes.

And each September, around the time the monarchs begin their journey south, the borough hosts a downtown "Butterfly Parade," during which students dress up as butterflies and caterpillars.

An after-school club at Memorial School also grew out of the student's interest in the monarchs. The Monarch and Milkweed Club has 35 members.

"In school, we were just learning about them," said club member Jessica Collier, 10. "In the club, we're picking milkweed and getting seeds for the butterfly garden."

Another club member, Roy Langlois, 10, said he's "still trying to figure out what happens inside the cocoon."

"I thought this was going to be boring," he said. "It's a fun way to learn. Now, I see (a monarch) flying around and I think of all the stuff I've learned."