The number of new coronavirus infections at Kettle Moraine School has been revealed. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
(The Center Square) – Enrollment is declining in more than 5,000 public schools in the United States, according to a new study, suggesting families are opting out of traditional schools because of the pandemic.
A new Fordham Institution study conducted by Brookings Institution researcher Sophocris Goulas, released Wednesday, found that families are more than twice as likely to drop out of low-performing public schools.
“These declines do not appear to be explained by declining birth rates or changes in charter and private school enrollment,” Goulas said. “There’s something else going on.”
The decline in enrollment was not random, leading Goulas to suspect that students were not simply absent, but were looking for replacements.
“This new study allows us to know whether these declines are random across schools or related to effectiveness,” Goulas said. “And we found that the big, lower-performing schools saw the biggest declines in enrollment, so we think that families may actually be looking for something else.”
Goulas added that families may be considering homeschooling, but no conclusive research has yet emerged. Whatever the cause of the drop in enrollment, Goulas said the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst.
Goulas said that during the pandemic and related school closures imposed by leaders, families have been experimenting with alternative arrangements such as homeschooling, which may have worked well for some. He said there is. Families may also have been disappointed in the school’s response during the pandemic, Goulas said.
Another aspect of school closures due to the pandemic is learning loss, Goulas said, which can drive families looking to catch up for their children to other options.
Goulas said that as important as the topic is, many people don’t want to discuss it because of what declining enrollment means for the community.
“Many people don’t want to discuss declining school enrollment because of operational pressures that could ultimately lead to school closures,” Goulas said. “School closures are a rare phenomenon, and while school closures are infrequent in historical data, school closures are associated with declines in enrollment.”
Goulas’ advice to district superintendents was to consider where the market response is already.
“Low-performing schools may be experiencing larger declines because enrollment declines are not a random phenomenon across schools,” Goulas said. “They may be close to closing.”
But Goulas said every case is different and the needs of all communities must be considered.
“It’s hard to get a consistent definition of low-performing schools, schools that don’t serve their communities, because even bad schools do serve some students,” Goulas said. says.
In the report’s foreword, Amber Northern and Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute noted that schools across the country are empty and need taxpayer funding.
“In Chicago, 35% of seats are currently unfilled and nearly three out of five school buildings are underutilized,” they wrote in the report’s introduction.
“In Milwaukee, at least 40 schools are ‘significantly under-enrolled’ (although that has not stopped the district from demanding a 30% increase in property taxes),” they wrote. “In Broward, Florida, 67 schools are currently operating at less than 70% capacity. The same is true for 48 schools in Fort Worth.”
Goulas said he hopes his research will help school leaders find ways to set their districts up for success early so they are well prepared for the necessary changes.
“While these are very difficult questions and vary by district, we feel that outlining them will be helpful to district superintendents and help them develop plans that help all students.” Mr Gouras said.
Brendan Craley
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Reposted with permission
