Public School Enrollment Plummets as Private Schools See Gainshttps://fee.org/articles/public-school-enrollment-plummets-as-private-schools-see-gains/Since March, US parents have been put back in charge of their children’s education in unprecedented ways. Zoom schooling has given them a peek into what their children are actually learning (or not learning) in their classrooms, and ongoing school closures have encouraged families to pursue education options beyond their assigned district school. Many families have withdrawn their children from a district school in recent months in favor of independent homeschooling or private schooling, or have decided to delay their child’s kindergarten entry.
Homeschooling Numbers Soar
According to a recent Gallup poll, the rate of homeschooling has doubled since last year to nearly 10 percent, while the rate of children enrolled in a district school declined seven percent to 76 percent of the overall US K-12 student population.
New state-level data offers more insight into this exodus from public schooling. In Connecticut, officials report that public school enrollment is down more than 15,000 students or about three percent, with much of that drop due to fewer children enrolled in public kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs. At the same time, homeschooling numbers in Connecticut are more than six times higher than they were last year, with over 3,500 children opting out of public schooling for homeschooling this year alone.
Other states are seeing similar shifts away from public schooling this fall. In Utah, public school enrollment has dropped for the first time in 20 years, while homeschooling numbers in the state have tripled this year. In Arizona, public school enrollment is down 50,000 students, or about five percent of the school-age population, with an associated uptick in homeschooling. The state has also seen a 14 percent drop in kindergarten enrollment. In Montana, public school enrollment is down approximately 3,300 students over last year and homeschooling numbers are up. School officials there are worried about state funding cuts as public school enrollment falls.
In person teaching is better than computer screen teaching. One-to-one is better still. What I emphasized is a biggie as well. Parents are having to see their kids' textbooks and are hearing what is being taught, and are less than happy about it. How many will be able to (or want to) continue after PSs finally open fully is an unknown, I suppose, but I suspect the number will be very significant. And for newly private- and home-schooled students with younger siblings, the changeover is likely to be lasting.
Having homeschooled our munchkins in the late 80s into the early 00s, those inrease numbers for homeschooling are jaw-dropping. Thankfully, the support and resources infrastructure for homeschoolers is FAR greater now than what it was 30 or 40 years ago.
