FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2019
CONTACT:
Chelsea Coffin, Director, Education Policy Initiative
(202) 223-2233
chelsea@dcpolicycenter.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Released today, an updated report using new data from 2018 indicates that despite the District of Columbia’s slowdown in population growth, enrollment is expected to continue to increase, as births have stabilized in recent years and children are enrolling in public schools at higher rates.
Population growth in the District of Columbia is slowing and migration patterns are changing. While D.C.’s growth used to be driven in part by domestic migration, the District’s current population gains are propelled entirely by new births and international immigration.
A September 2018 D.C. Policy Center report, Will Children of Current Millennials Become Future Public School Students?, projected ten-year growth of 21,100 more students after school year 2016-17 (this projection was aligned with DME and ODCA projections released around the same time).
The updated data comes just as the D.C. Public Charter School Board is voting to approve or deny charter school applications. Some have questioned whether the city can accommodate more schools given existing schools and enrollment patterns.
Updated data indicate that despite the slowdown in population growth, enrollment is expected to continue to increase as births have stabilized in recent years and children are enrolling in public schools at higher rates.
However, future enrollment growth relies heavily on enrollment increasing faster in higher grades. Quality school options must continue to attract and retain students from pre-kindergarten throughout high school in order to realize the full amount of projected growth.
UPDATED REPORT: https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/enrollment-still-expected-to-increase-despite-slower-population-growth-in-d-c/
ORIGINAL SEPTEMBER 2018 REPORT: https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/future-public-school-students-report/
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About the D.C. Policy Center | dcpolicycenter.org
Established in 2016, the D.C. Policy Center is a non-partisan, independent think tank focused on advancing policies for a vibrant and growing economy in the District of Columbia. The D.C. Policy Center is dedicated to providing objective, targeted, and high-quality data analyses to support a productive policy debate in the District of Columbia. Learn more at dcpolicycenter.org/about
| Photo: Courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action |