Where Did The Kids Go?

Sort of a "ya think" story: "Where are they now? Urban public schools see steep fall in enrollment" by Joanne Jacobs. She relates:

    Two million students disappeared from public and private school rolls  in the 2021-22 school year, according to a Brookings report. Two years later, well after all schools had reopened, 

    2.1 million students are still "missing," reports Hechinger's Jill Barshay. "No one knows whether these kids are getting an education."

    Before the pandemic, 85 percent of students attended traditional public schools, she writes. Almost 9 percent were in private schools. After the pandemic, the number fell below 80 percent. It "hasn't rebounded." Private school enrollment has held steady. 

The difference can't be explained by the increased enrollment in charter schools or "virtual" schools. "I suspect many homeschoolers and microschoolers are flying under the radar, and don't show up in official statistics," writes Jacobs. But between the missing students, falling birth rates, and alternatives to public schools, we should expect to see mass public school closures, the article concludes.