Giving Compass' Take:
- Alex Zimmerman examines the results of a survey shedding light on why increasing numbers of families are leaving New York City public schools.
- How can donors invest in improved resources and economic opportunity for families in major cities across the U.S. and beyond?
- Learn more about key issues in education and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on education in your area.
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As enrollment in New York City’s public schools plunged in recent years, city officials said reversing the trend would be a major priority, demonstrating the importance of examining why families are leaving New York City public schools.
New statistics offer some clues about why many families left: A desire for better instruction and concerns about school safety, according to survey results the Education Department released Friday.
About 41% of families who left the system said more rigorous instruction was one of their top reasons for withdrawing. Another 40% cited a move away from the city. One in four families pointed to concerns about school safety.
More than 1,600 families who transferred their children to local private or charter schools, home-schooled them, or left the city between September 2022 and December 2023 responded to the survey.
Education Department officials framed the survey results as a way to better understand parents’ choices, some of which are tied to broader policy issues such as the city’s dearth of affordable housing. Public school enrollment, which was already on the decline before COVID hit, is now 11% below pre-pandemic levels, with 815,000 students in grades K-12. And officials predict the numbers will continue to fall over the next decade.
City officials have grown increasingly worried about recruiting and retaining families in the nation’s largest school system. Dwindling rosters are prompting difficult decisions about merging and closing schools that are often too small to offer a robust set of programs and extracurricular activities.
Among families who departed the city, half listed “concerns about schools” as one of their top five reasons for leaving. Nearly two-thirds said they were looking for a better environment to raise their family, half said they were looking for bigger homes, 42% cited concerns about crime, and 36% said they were looking for more affordable housing.
The city is trying to win families back, and officials pointed to some existing efforts to improve the system: overhauling reading and math curriculums and recruiting parent volunteers to help address chronic absenteeism. Officials are also launching a wave of selective high schools in higher-need neighborhoods.
Read the full article about families leaving New York City public schools by Alex Zimmerman at Chalkbeat.