Previously I had discussed the large number of applications that New York City has been experiencing in students wanting to attend private schools.
However it seems that schools everywhere (public and private) may be experiencing overloading numbers of students. It has been reported that this year public schools will hit a record high with right under 50 million students. The group of students enrolling into public schools is growing and changing.
The student bodies of schools are becoming more and more diverse. According to a new federal report, this is largely credited to the Latino population.
In the 1980s, schools reported only about 11 percent Hispanic students. However, when numbers were reported again in 2006 that percent had grown to about 20 percent. Washington area schools have seen one of the largest increases with percentages rising from about 4 percent to 17 percent in two decades.
In general, around 43 percent of our nation’s students are minorities. Because of this growing number, it is becoming more and more critical to find ways to boost the academics of these students. Along with low income students, minority groups are often seen to lag behind white middle class students when it comes to test scores.
The difference in performance was not as noticeable and prominent when there were only a small percentage of Latino students in school. However the growing numbers are showing more significant decreases in academic performance and policymakers are becoming concerned.
No Child Left Behind is helping somewhat with its push to close the gap for all students. However many schools still lack the funds to properly educate all of the children. While many schools and homes are fortunate enough to be equipped with technology, some are not.
It is thought that if the number of students continues to grow at the current rate, there will an outstanding number of 54 million students by 2017!
Public Schools vs Private Schools
Finding and Funding a Private School