USA: More parents pulling students out of public schools, new data shows
by JILLIAN SMITH The National Desk
Parents are pulling their kids out of public schools in large numbers leaving behind empty buildings and an uncertain future. (7News)
WASHINGTON (TND) — Parents are pulling their kids out of public schools in large numbers leaving behind empty buildings and an uncertain future.
Right now, parents are making tough decisions about how and where their children are being educated. Blanka Tapahuasco from Baltimore is just one of a growing number of parents now homeschooling.
“There are not distractions here. [They] focus on getting it done,” Tapahuasco said.
Michele Taon of Texas moved her daughter from public to private school after the pandemic.
“She gets more one-on-one attention from her teacher,” Taon said.
Statistics from the National Center for Education show that over one million students left public schools from fall 2019 to fall 2020, which is when many schools went virtual.
“So they have opened their doors back up but the students just aren’t coming back and the numbers that they thought they would,” said Matt Dearden, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at Cedarville University.
Fewer students means fewer federal dollars, leading to fewer school years. The Oakland School Board voted to close seven schools in the next two.
Jefferson County Colorado, just outside Denver, voted in November to close 16 schools. Dearden says it will be hard for schools to come back in urban areas
“Many of great minds of the world have come from our system so it is not going anywhere any time soon, I think what you are going to have to see is more collaboration between public school districts,” Dearden said.
But for some parents in cities like Oakland, who can’t afford private schools or are unable to homeschool, they are fearful their children’s education will suffer as districts close schools to save money.
There is another aspect to all of this: The empty school buildings left sitting vacant in neighborhoods are , in some cases, becoming a magnet for crime.
In Flint, Michigan, what was formerly Flint Central High School was intentionally set on fire, adding more fuel to school districts already in trouble.
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