After Enrollment Drops, Public Schools Hope Students Return for Autumn
2021-07-14
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Ashley Pearce's child was ready to start kindergarten last year in Maryland's Montgomery County public school system.
2But when she learned the year would begin online, Pearce sent her daughter to a private Catholic school nearby. It was offering in-person classes.
3Now Pearce is debating whether her daughter should return to the local public school.
4She is unsure of moving after her daughter made friends at the Catholic school.
5She is also worried the school would go back online if coronavirus cases increase again.
6Pearce told The Associated Press, "It's going to be fine if we stay where we are, and that stability for my family is probably the way we're going to go."
7Many school systems across the country lost students during the pandemic.
8And they hope when school starts again this fall, families will choose public schools.
9Some schools have made efforts to connect with families of young children.
10Some are placing signs all over communities.
11Others are reaching out to families with direct phone calls.
12There are early signs that enrollment may not recover, says a study by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press.
13With fewer students, public schools could receive less money to operate.
14But for now, money from pandemic support is keeping school budgets strong.
15Chris Cram is the director of communications for the Montgomery County Public School system where Pearce lives.
16He said the county has lost between 3,000 and 5,000 students since last year.
17Drops in enrollment could also change the racial makeup of the country's public schools.
18The AP/Chalkbeat study found that enrollment declines vary based on race.
19Enrollment in preschool to 12th grade dropped by 2.6 percent among 41 states last fall.
20But the decline was highest among white students, whose enrollment fell more than 4 percent.
21White families' decisions seemed based mostly on whether their child's public school offered in-person learning.
22States, where more students had online classes, saw larger declines among white students.
23The country's Hispanic student population saw the biggest change in enrollment from before the pandemic.
24Enrollment dropped 1.5 percent among Hispanic students, a population that had been America's fastest-growing student group.
25That could be because of the problems Hispanics faced during the pandemic.
26The group saw high rates of job losses and high rates of death and hospitalization from the pandemic.
27"As you can imagine, families (and their children) made a wide variety of decisions that were pandemic related,' Cram said in an email to VOA.
28Cram said some students left Montgomery County to attend private school or home school.
29He said other families left for economic reasons, moving to less costly areas.
30"In the coming weeks we will be calling, mailing and door-knocking to engage and encourage these families to return," Cram said.
31Richard Welsh is a professor at New York University who studies student enrollment.
32He said it could be difficult for schools to reconnect with families who left public schools for many reasons.
33Welsh said schools will have to find different ways to bring back students.
34" 'We're open for business and we're committed to in-person learning' " could be targeted to white families.
35But for Black and Hispanic families, Welsh said, schools are talking about safety measures.
36One such effort is going on in San Antonio, Texas.
37There, the mostly Hispanic school district saw enrollment drop just over 5 percent.
38Officials there expect enrollment will rise this fall but not to pre-pandemic levels.
39To build trust with families worried about in-person learning, school officials have held town meetings with families.
40There, families can ask experts questions about the virus and COVID-19 vaccines.
41The school will also continue to offer fully online classes.
42San Antonio school officials are working to connect with every family who left or did not enroll their child in preschool or kindergarten.
43And Pedro Martinez, head of the school system, said they are contacting families by phone or with a home visit.
44Martinez said he is centered on classes for younger students, where enrollment dropped the most.
45But he is also concerned about older students from poor families.
46Many got jobs to help their families during the pandemic.
47And they continued to attend online classes this spring so they could work, Martinez said.
48"It's so easy for a 16- or 17-year-old to prioritize work over school," he said.
49Cram said Montgomery County will also offer fully online school, in part to help working students.
50It is unclear exactly how many families left for private schools, like Pearce.
51Private school enrollment grew 5 percent or more this year in states like Delaware and New Hampshire.
52But in other states, including New York, Louisiana, Indiana and Colorado, private school enrollment fell by 3 percent or more.
53It was not just wealthy families that left public schools.
54There were large enrollment declines among students from both poor and rich families in the 35 states that provided data.
55Cram said, "some students will be coming back but not all."
56I'm Dan Novak.
57And I'm Caty Weaver.
1Ashley Pearce's child was ready to start kindergarten last year in Maryland's Montgomery County public school system. But when she learned the year would begin online, Pearce sent her daughter to a private Catholic school nearby. It was offering in-person classes. 2Now Pearce is debating whether her daughter should return to the local public school. She is unsure of moving after her daughter made friends at the Catholic school. She is also worried the school would go back online if coronavirus cases increase again. 3Pearce told The Associated Press, "It's going to be fine if we stay where we are, and that stability for my family is probably the way we're going to go." 4Many school systems across the country lost students during the pandemic. And they hope when school starts again this fall, families will choose public schools. Some schools have made efforts to connect with families of young children. Some are placing signs all over communities. Others are reaching out to families with direct phone calls. 5There are early signs that enrollment may not recover, says a study by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press. With fewer students, public schools could receive less money to operate. But for now, money from pandemic support is keeping school budgets strong. 6Chris Cram is the director of communications for the Montgomery County Public School system where Pearce lives. He said the county has lost between 3,000 and 5,000 students since last year. 7Drops in enrollment could also change the racial makeup of the country's public schools. The AP/Chalkbeat study found that enrollment declines vary based on race. Enrollment in preschool to 12th grade dropped by 2.6 percent among 41 states last fall. But the decline was highest among white students, whose enrollment fell more than 4 percent. 8White families' decisions seemed based mostly on whether their child's public school offered in-person learning. States, where more students had online classes, saw larger declines among white students. 9The country's Hispanic student population saw the biggest change in enrollment from before the pandemic. Enrollment dropped 1.5 percent among Hispanic students, a population that had been America's fastest-growing student group. That could be because of the problems Hispanics faced during the pandemic. The group saw high rates of job losses and high rates of death and hospitalization from the pandemic. 10"As you can imagine, families (and their children) made a wide variety of decisions that were pandemic related,' Cram said in an email to VOA. 11Cram said some students left Montgomery County to attend private school or home school. He said other families left for economic reasons, moving to less costly areas. 12"In the coming weeks we will be calling, mailing and door-knocking to engage and encourage these families to return," Cram said. 13Richard Welsh is a professor at New York University who studies student enrollment. He said it could be difficult for schools to reconnect with families who left public schools for many reasons. Welsh said schools will have to find different ways to bring back students. 14" 'We're open for business and we're committed to in-person learning' " could be targeted to white families. But for Black and Hispanic families, Welsh said, schools are talking about safety measures. 15One such effort is going on in San Antonio, Texas. There, the mostly Hispanic school district saw enrollment drop just over 5 percent. Officials there expect enrollment will rise this fall but not to pre-pandemic levels. 16To build trust with families worried about in-person learning, school officials have held town meetings with families. There, families can ask experts questions about the virus and COVID-19 vaccines. The school will also continue to offer fully online classes. 17San Antonio school officials are working to connect with every family who left or did not enroll their child in preschool or kindergarten. And Pedro Martinez, head of the school system, said they are contacting families by phone or with a home visit. 18Martinez said he is centered on classes for younger students, where enrollment dropped the most. But he is also concerned about older students from poor families. Many got jobs to help their families during the pandemic. And they continued to attend online classes this spring so they could work, Martinez said. 19"It's so easy for a 16- or 17-year-old to prioritize work over school," he said. 20Cram said Montgomery County will also offer fully online school, in part to help working students. 21It is unclear exactly how many families left for private schools, like Pearce. Private school enrollment grew 5 percent or more this year in states like Delaware and New Hampshire. But in other states, including New York, Louisiana, Indiana and Colorado, private school enrollment fell by 3 percent or more. 22It was not just wealthy families that left public schools. There were large enrollment declines among students from both poor and rich families in the 35 states that provided data. 23Cram said, "some students will be coming back but not all." 24I'm Dan Novak. 25And I'm Caty Weaver. 26The Associated Press and Chalkbeat reported this story. Dan Novak adapted for VOA Learning English with additional reporting. Hai Do was the editor. 27_________________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29kindergarten - n. a school or class for very young children 30stability - n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change 31enrollment - n. the number of people at a school or college. 32makeup - n. the way in which something is put together or arranged 33engage - v. to get and keep (someone's attention, interest, etc.) 34encourage - v. to make (someone) more determined, hopeful, or confident 35commit - n to say that (someone or something) will definitely do something : to make (someone or something) obligated to do something 36prioritize - v. to organize (things) so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first