FEEL GOOD STORIES OF THE DAY: Plunging Enrollment, a ‘Seismic Hit’ to ...

[SVPete]

FEEL GOOD STORIES OF THE DAY: Plunging Enrollment, a ‘Seismic Hit’ to Public Schools

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/05/feel-good-stories-of-the-day-2.php

Let’s start with the New York Times today:

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — In New York City, the nation’s largest school district has lost some 50,000 students over the past two years. In Michigan, enrollment remains more than 50,000 below prepandemic levels from big cities to the rural Upper Peninsula.

In the suburbs of Orange County, Calif., where families have moved for generations to be part of the public school system, enrollment slid for the second consecutive year; statewide, more than a quarter-million public school students have dropped from California’s rolls since 2019.

And since school funding is tied to enrollment, cities that have lost many students — including Denver, Albuquerque and Oakland — are now considering combining classrooms, laying off teachers or shutting down entire schools.

All together, America’s public schools have lost at least 1.2 million students since 2020, according to a recently published national survey. State enrollment figures show no sign of a rebound to the previous national levels any time soon.

[DefiantSix]

Noice! 

[SVPete]

From https://instapundit.com/520756/ :

And even NYT readers agree. This was the top-rated comment:

Can’t speak for the other cities here, but Oakland’s problem is deep seated. It has been a perpetual downward spiral for the last 12 years. I sent both my kids to public schools, but by next year both will be in private school. There are so many problems that seem intractable. Indeed, some under-enrolled schools need to close, because the overhead is too high for the number of students attending. Parents anger over the situation doesn’t change the math.

On the other side of the coin, we have a school district that refuses to downsize its administrative staff to compensate for its shrinking budget. Oakland has one of the highest administrator to teacher ratios in the state, if not the country. Personally, I’d rather see a huge increase in pay for the teachers that remain and far fewer administrators.

On top of this, many parents are frustrated with the pursuit of equity above academics. Yes, schools should make sure they provide an environment where kids from all backgrounds receive the resources they need to learn effectively. However, in practice, the district has chosen to lower standards to achieve equity rather than meet kids where they are and bring them to their highest possible level. Parents see this, but would never say it out loud because the social blowback of voicing this opinion swift and brutal. Still, kids (and most adults) should be pushed to reach their potential. This is different for everyone and underserves the majority by setting the bar so low.