Drop In Enrollment at Laurelhurst Elementary And Other SPS Schools
A neighbor took to Laurelhurst's blog to share this:
What's behind a big drop in enrollment at a Seattle school?
When Ashley Bede's mother moved from Seattle to Laurelhurst six years ago, the local public elementary school got a lot of attention.
Her two children are now in private school, and their family is part of a troubling trend in Seattle public schools : a significant and steady decline in enrollment.
The Bede family is not alone.
Seattle schools have seen a 6.4% drop in enrollment since 2019, according to district reports. If projections for the 2022-23 school year hold true, the district could see an 8% drop from its previous peak. This decrease is more than double the nationwide decrease of 3.4% over the same period.
In absolute terms, 48,748 students are expected to return to the classroom in Seattle schools this fall. That's up from a peak of 52,793 just three years ago.
Enrollment figures are related to government financial support for students; fall means less money for schools. Often this means reassigning teachers from schools with fewer students.
Bede told The Dori Monson Show on Thursday that the decision to leave their family's home school was not an easy one. When they first bought their home six years ago, Bede said, “A lot of it had to do with Laurelhurst Elementary.
"When I went on tour, it seemed amazing," says Bede, who serves on diversity committees at her alma mater and her children's current school.
After his first visit to his destination school, he said: "I was very pleased with the diversity numbers - that was a big draw."
But after more research and talking to friends, she said, "It wasn't what I was hoping for."
What was missing? asked Dory.
"I'm a big supporter of public schools, but I felt the resources weren't there," Bede told Dory listeners.
"Teachers are the most important part of any system," he replied. "If teachers don't get the support they need to do their best, we're missing opportunities for our teachers and our kids."
According to Bede, "overworked" teachers lack the "infrastructure" to teach themselves above or below average students.
According to Dory's listeners, while there are no hard statistics to show why registrations are down, there could be a number of reasons.
The area shows the expected decline due to low birth rates. Some parents are blaming COVID safety and health for their children not attending Seattle Public Schools.
Other parents told Dory they were worried about her poor test results. Washington's 2021 Smarter Balanced Assessment results show that only 30% of fourth- and eleventh-grade students in the state's public schools are meeting math standards. This is 20% less than in 2019. About 52% of those students met English language standards in 2021, 9% lower than in 2019.
Meanwhile, Dory says, many of those same parents tell her they are frustrated with the district's focus on social justice issues at the expense of the core curriculum.
"There are ways to incorporate (social justice) issues without compromising the core curriculum," says Bede.
Meanwhile, the Seattle mother said she and many other parents are seeing enrollment drop because they know what it means financially for students and families stuck in underfunded schools.
"I just want to believe in the public school system in principle," Bede said, "but the increasing number of families moving to private schools makes me nervous."
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