Decreased Enrollment In Public Schools Associated With Frustration And Educational Inconsistencies

By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium

According to public education data from states across the country, enrollment in public schools has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Washington state, enrollment for the 2020/2021 school year decreased statewide by more than 2%, after a 1% increase in the 2019/2020 school year.

Due to the pandemic, parents have had to make tough decisions regarding the education of their children. With public schools in the state offering only online education options for most of the year, some parents are finding it frustrating to navigate their children’s education and their own work schedules during COVID. However, many parents with resources have opted for other educational opportunities that provide in-person learning.

“Public schools have not been open like private schools. Private schools have been open all year long,” says Stacy Sparks, a mother of three and a Patient Advocate at Seattle’s Polyclinic. “That has been my frustration because they [public school students] are not getting the same type of hands-on from teachers with online help.”

Race specific data in Washington state show that the number of Black students enrolled in public schools has decreased by roughly 1% during the pandemic, while the number of White students has decreased by over 4%.

According to Ted Howard, Chief Academic Officer for the Tukwila School District, due to the pandemic some parents chose to move their children from public education to private schools because many of the private schools were offering full-time, in-person learning for the entire school year. In contrast, public schools in the area relied on a new virtual learning model, and made modifications to this model, which included some in-person learning, on a quarterly basis.

“One big piece was the inconsistency in [public] schools from the start,” says Howard. “Today, you will find private school data has gone up tremendously and parents enrolled their kids in private schools because it was consistent and they had more control over what was going on in their children’s schools.”

Nationwide, the most dramatic declines in enrollment are in Pre-k and kindergarten. In the states of Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Washington, Pre-k enrollment decreased between 13% and 42%, and kindergarten enrollment decreased between 6% and 15%. However, in Washington state, enrollment in half-day kindergarten increased by more than 400% after declining in the previous school year.

“Those starting kindergarten have the lowest number of enrollments,” says Keisha Scarlett, Chief Education Officers for the Seattle Public Schools. “Kindergarten is special because it is your first contact with school and so giving the option of starting kindergarten remotely using devices and not be face-to-face with teachers, many families that cut across races opted out of that being their child’s first opportunity in schooling.”

While White students are exiting public school at a higher rate than any other race, particularly those in early education there are any number of reasons this could be: those parents can afford private tutors or to enroll their children in private school; those parents can afford private childcare; or those parents are able to keep their children at home with no disruption to their work schedules. Whatever the reason, advocates say this will further the existing disparities in primary school outcomes. The affluent typically have more resources than minority parents and therefore have more options as it relates to the education of their children.

In addition, Black families and families of color are discovering the transition back to school is a bit more challenging. For example, in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) the district and busing companies have yet to come to terms with how to adequately transport children safely during the pandemic and this promotes a logistical problem and adds to the frustration for some parents in getting their children to school and back home.

“Do I feel like is it time to get our kids back into school? Yes,” say Sparks. “Because I don’t feel as though we as a community are equipped to be able to help one another.”

“There are no grandmothers, no aunties to watch the kids when you go to work, not like it used to be when I grew up,” added Sparks. “A lot of parents are having to commute, there is no transportation for the kids due to the pandemic and that promotes a hinderance as well.”

“Our schools have historically underserved Black and Brown children and communities. So, there’s a lot of hurt and compound that with a pandemic and the loss of [life and livelihoods] on top of that for everyone, it’s perfectly understandable that parents are feeling challenged and frustrated,” says Scarlett. “So, we [SPS] are actively working hard in order to better serve Black and underserved families as we safely transition the way we educate children during this pandemic.”

According to advocates, the inequities that have been uncovered during this pandemic has affected everyone, but the differences are truly starting to become more evident, particular with education.

“This is a conversation that was always happening pre-COVID,” Sylvia Simms, an education advocate who runs the group Parent Power. “It’s still about the haves and the have-nots. If you have the resources and the money to go to a better neighborhood, go to a different district, you are able to do these things, but if you cannot, you’re stuck.”

As districts across the area continue to adapt their learning models during a COVID environment, parents are hoping that educators and administrators are putting together a comprehensive education program that will help close the gaps that have been created/revealed during COVID as they look towards the next school year.

“We are using hundreds of interviews with students and families, studies and that data will help guide us and our investments and the shifts that need to happen in our school system,” says Scarlett. “Virtual learning is here to stay, so we are invested in working with community-based organizations to help support virtual learning opportunities for families if that is something they want to opt-in to. But ideally, if we can safely open in the fall, we want all of our students to come back for face-to-face learning.”

This article is one of a series of articles produced by The Seattle Medium through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to Word In Black, a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.