COVID has wreaked havoc on virtually every aspect of America's public schools. Now parents are pulling their kids out of the system altogether, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.
- Why it matters: With school funding directly tied to enrollment, experts warn the decline will have deep repercussions for individual districts.
By the numbers: Districts in the country with the most remote classes lost 4% of their students, compared to a 1% drop for those that held school in person, according to a national survey by the American Enterprise Institute and the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College.
- New York saw the most significant drop in enrollment statewide from 2020 to 2022, with nearly a 6% decline.
- Public school enrollment in California fell below 6 million this academic year for the first time in two decades, per statewide data.
- Kindergarten enrollment was down 8% in districts with the most remote learning vs. a 2% drop for those with in-person schooling.
"A likely explanation for the sustained or even accelerated enrollment loss is parents looking for safe harbor for their kids, looking for some continuity through this," said Thomas Dee, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.
- Dee said schools will have to plan for enrollment drops as "the new normal" as long as the pandemic persists
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