Enrollment is dropping... again

An NPR investigation into K-12 enrollment [View this email online]( [NPR Education]( December 19, 2021 This week, we looked at dropping K-12 enrollment, omicron on college campuses and a new trend in homeschooling. Plus, enter the Student Podcast Challenge! --------------------------------------------------------------- Hanna Barczyk for NPR Happy Sunday, Mansee here! I’m an intern with NPR Ed. This week, Anya Kamenetz, Cory Turner and I want to share a story we’ve been working on for months – an investigation into public school enrollment during the pandemic. We gathered data from more than 600 districts in 23 states, including statewide data for every district in Massachusetts and Georgia, and found that the majority – especially large districts – are now posting a second straight year of enrollment declines. And school districts can’t say for sure where all of these students went. "We think we found most of them, but there are still probably a thousand kids out there, we just don't know what happened to them," says Dallas Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. In our story, we tick through the possibilities. First, there’s been a growth in enrollment in private and some charter schools. ISome superintendents said that parents were leaving for schools with looser mask policies. Other parents told us the exact opposite: They don’t feel safe to come back to school in person, period. This may have contributed to an increase in homeschooling. The biggest concern is that some students may be dropping out altogether. Students who spent the pandemic working to support themselves and their families have had a tough transition to in-person school. Some schools have started expanding access to remote learning and even night classes so that high schoolers can still earn their degree. You can read our full story and check out the data for yourself [here]( and as always, follow us [@NPRCoryTurner]( [@anya1anya]( and [@mansee_writes](. [Read More Here]( In 2021, we’ve brought you the stories you need to hear – more in-depth conversations, more unheard voices. [Please donate to your NPR station]( so we can bring you more of what you love. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Now, let’s get into some news … Cornell University shuts down its Ithaca campus after significant signs of omicron variant found. As of Tuesday afternoon, the campus reported 469 active student cases of the coronavirus and that, for the week of Dec. 6, about 3% of tests were positive among the students tested, according to Cornell's online COVID-19 dashboard. [Read more here.]( — [Jonathan Franklin,]( NPR News Desk More Black families are homeschooling their children, citing the pandemic and racism. It's a common perception that white, evangelical families are the most likely to homeschool their children. But a growing number of Black families have started teaching their kids at home — especially during the pandemic. The Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey found that in April 2020, 3% of Black households homeschooled their children, and by October 2020 it was up to 16%. [Read the full story here.]( — [Kyra Miles]( WBHM Education Reporter Organizers of the South Dakota teacher “Dash for Cash” are apologizing and paying up. A South Dakota hockey team and mortgage lender are apologizing for a widely panned event in which school teachers scrambled to grab dollar bills off the ice during a game's intermission. [Read more about the fallout here.]( —[Rachel Treisman]( NPR News Desk Colleges go back to drawing board — again — to fight COVID. The threat of the omicron variant [comes as a gut punch to schools]( that were hoping to relax safety measures this spring. Now, many are telling students to prepare for another term of masking, testing and, if cases get bad, limits around social life. [Read about how colleges are preparing here.]( — The Associated Press And before you go, have you heard? NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge is back! This time, college students can enter their podcast for a chance to win a $5,000 grand prize. [Read all about how to submit your podcast here.]( content closes on Feb. 28! See you next week. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! 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