Enrollment in U.S. public schools saw a one-year drop of 1.4 million in the fall of 2020, hitting a 10-year low of 49.4 million students.
The sudden decline followed annual growth averaging 3 percent for more than a decade.
Although enrollment rebounded slightly in 2021, it remains at its lowest level since 2010 prompting some districts to consider school closures and other cost-saving measures.
New York City’s public school enrollment decreased to 903,000 in 2022 according to the website Gothamist, down some 10 percent over three years.
An empty classroom at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 before the start of the school year in New York City on Sept. 2, 2021. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
“We have a hemorrhaging of families that are leaving the city, leaving the school system,” Mayor Eric Adams said during an announcement in June 2022. Adams feared the loss of students would trigger the loss of federal funding to New York City schools….