District Loses Enrollment
This story comes via the Seattle Times which sure does pick and choose what stories about SPS that they will print.
The story is entitled "Student Enrollment in Seattle Continues to Drop. Here's What It Means."
Just to state upfront, SPS has virtually never had the urge to actually ask parents WHY they are leaving SPS and WHERE they are going. The article has mostly quotes from JoLynn Berge, the assistant superintendent of business and finance at SPS.
So it's a bit of a blindspot for SPS to say:
From the article:
In the last two years, Seattle had a 6.4% enrollment drop, Berge said, almost double the state’s 3.4% decline.
In the 2015 school year, enrollment was approximately 50,000. It rose to it's highest point in 2019 with nearly 53,000 and dropped to 49.5 thousand in 2021. They are projecting even lower enrollment of 48.7 thousand in 2022.10,000
What
What is fascinating is that in the article, Berge twice calls out more "wealthy" and "privileged" parents in the north end. And the Times printsboth those quotes even though they are quite similar. Almost if there was a point to drive home that the drop in enrollment is really the fault of some parents.
“I do think in Seattle we have a high degree of wealth and privilege and a higher instance of opportunity,” Berge said in an interview. In the metro area, there are more private school choices for families — besides home-schooling — than other parts of the state.
“During the pandemic, wealthier schools have seen the biggest staffing adjustments,” Berge said. “The higher poverty schools had the fewest reductions — they didn’t lose students at the same rate and I think that speaks to privilege and choice.”
Another item of interest:
“The enrollment loss is not proportional,” Berge said during the June board meeting. “We’re not losing children in special education. The other thing that we know is children who receive special education services are not the children who go to private school or leave our district.”
Well, no mystery there because it is a rare charter or private school that has the same number of services provided to Special Education students that SPS does.
Where does this leave the district?
The district has spent about $89.9 million in ESSER funds so far and has about $55.2 million left. School districts need to use these funds by September 2024. Some funds will last through the 2023-24 school year, Berge said.One thing that will help blunt the impact this coming school year: State legislators approved temporary, one-time funds for school districts to supplement enrollment drops. Seattle Schools is receiving about $18 million for the upcoming year.
Comments
Pot Shot
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The class war quotes stood out to me too. While dissatisfaction with HCC opportunities no doubt drives some families out, HCC enrollment is not a huge part of the district. Maybe though it is turning into a symbol of "we don't care about providing opportunities" and that this cultural message from SPS administrators is what drives families out, or from entering in the first place.
The district could easily ask parents why they are leaving. They don't and haven't for years - I can't imagine it isn't intentional. The pandemic gave them an easy way to try to pretend this isn't almost certainly a result of their continued reduction of HCC/Advanced learning.
NE Parent
We chose parochial because it was the only way for us to access a K-8, but anticipated public high school. I’m really disappointed how advanced coursework has been gutted at Roosevelt. We are a ways away from high school, but I’m not expecting things to improve.
Parochial Mom