Not your typical urban school story
Tuesday, 18 December 2007 by Jacob TomawI was rather surprised to read this today in my Trib feed,
Chicago could close 10 to 15 public elementary schools in each of the next five years, officials are expected to announce Wednesday, as enrollment plummets on the city’s Near West and South Sides. (my emphasis)
Some of the schools in Chicago are only 50% utilized and a few are only at 30%. The overall elementary enrollment has fallen by 41,000 future Daley voters in the last 7 years.
Warum?
James Dispensa, director of CPS demographics and planning, said it was part of a larger trend nationwide, driven by falling birthrates. The children of many Baby Boomers, meanwhile, have moved on to high school, where enrollment remains strong.
The US birthrate has been of recent interest to me. (Obviously?) I know a lot of people who are pregnant, have given birth in the last year or so, or I expect to have children in the next 2 years. (If your name has an ‘r’ in it I am thinking of you.) It is hard for me to tell if this is part of a larger trend or if I just know a lot of people at the same stage in life who are just the normal breeders.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:19
I bet there is a strong correlation between Chicago Public School elementary enrollment decrease and private/charter school increase. While the birthrate may have tapered off, more and more people are choosing private/charter schools.
Too bad the newspaper did not report on how many in our generation are fed up with the public school system and are moving on for other sources of child education. Typical…
December 19th, 2007 at 14:59
Man, even my Moms isn’t bringing that kind of pressure! Thanks, Jacob.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:19
Jacob, apparently it’s a nation-wide trend. The 2006 fertility rate in the US hit 2.1, the highest since 1971:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-19-fertility_N.htm