While K-12 enrollment within KCPS boundaries decreased, overall, during the 2020-21 school year, KC Charter enrollment actually grew. KCPS enrollment also grew in several grades. In which grades did we gain students?
There’s a lot of discussion, both here in KC and across the country, about drops in student enrollment due to covid-19, and it’s academic and financial impact on our public schools.
Our school district is no exception. Within KCPS boundaries, enrollment is down, overall – by 1.6%. Kindergarten and first grade sustained the biggest losses, followed by 4th, 6th, and 11th grades. Enrollment in these grades is down in both KCPS and charter schools.
You can find this analysis in my last post, and an overall summary of 2020-21 enrollment here.
But in other grades we actually gained enrollment compared to 2019-20, at least marginally. Charter school gains were actually bigger than enrollment losses, resulting in overall growth. And grades 5, 8, 10 and 12 grew in both KCPS and the charter sector, with the biggest gains coming in 8th grade.
Altogether, enrollment changes from 2019-20 to 2020-21 look like this:
KCPS sustained 80% of K-12 enrollment loss; 76% of overall growth came from Kansas City’s charter sector.
So what does enrollment in these grades look like over the past five years, and what’s been the impact of the coronavirus compared to previous years? Let’s take a look.
2nd Grade
2nd grade: + 20 students
- After shrinking for several years in a row, KCPS enrollment grew in 2021 (+52)
- Charter enrollment declined in 2021 (-32) after several years of growth
- Overall, there are fewer 2nd grade students attending public schools within KCPS boundaries in 2021 than in 2017
3rd Grade
3rd Grade: +14 students
- KCPS third-grade enrollment has declined steadily since 2017 (-275 students, a -20% drop)
- Charter enrollment, overall, has grown during this period (+115 students, an 11% increase)
- In 2021, there are now more 3rd graders in charter schools than in KCPS schools
5th Grade
5th Grade: + 47 Students
- 5th grade charter enrollment has grown steadily since 2017 (+188 students, an 18% increase over time)
- KCPS enrollment declined overall, with a significant drop between 2018 and 2020
- Overall, there are more 5th graders enrolled in public schools within our district boundaries in 2021 than in 2017
7th Grade
7th Grade: +19 Students
- There are more 7th graders in 2021, overall, than there were in 2017 (+336, 18% growth)
- There are more 7th graders in charter schools than in traditional public schools
- While 7th grade charter enrollment grew in 2021 (+104 students, 9% growth), KCPS 7th grade enrollment declined (-85 students, -8% decline)
8th Grade
8th Grade: +169 Students
- There are more 8th graders, overall, in 2021 than in 2017
- 8th grade enrollment in both school sectors grew in 2021
- There are more 8th graders in charter schools than there are in KCPS schools
9th Grade
9th Grade: +1 Student
- In 9th grade, enrollment held steady, overall. KCPS lost 88 students and charters gained 89
- From 2017, KCPS enrollment declined and charter enrollment grew. Altogether there are slightly fewer 9th graders in 2021 than in 2017
- From K-8, enrollment between KCPS and charters is competitive; in many grades there are more students in charters than in KCPS. Starting with 9th grade, KCPS has clear market dominance. This continues through 12th grade
10th Grade
10th Grade: +151 Students
- 10th grade enrollment grew, overall, by 20% between 2017 and 2021
- Both KCPS and charter 10th grade enrollment grew in 2021, with charter enrollment growing by more than 100 students
- KCPS and charter growth follow the same trendline, overall
12th Grade
12th Grade: +81 Students
- 12th grade enrollment grew by 30% between 2017 and 2021; enrollment in both KCPS and the charter sector increased during this time
- 12th grade charter enrollment picked up in 2019, but KCPS and charters follow the same trendline, overall
- In 2017, 71% of all high school seniors attended KCPS high schools; by 2021, that number had decreased to 63%
A few take-aways
In 2021, we either gained enrollment, or enrollment held steady, in most grades. In grades 5, 8, 10 and 12, enrollment grew in both KCPS and the charter sector. Overall, more than 75% of enrollment gains were in the charter sector, where K-12 enrollment has grown for the past eight years.
A couple of things strike me as I look at these grade-level analyses focused on enrollment gains.
Covid-19 has had a distinct impact – that is, a noticeable change in the five- year trendline – on KCPS enrollment in grades 5, 7 and 9. In the charter sector, this impact comes, mostly, in grades 2 and 10.
I’m also struck by the high school graphs, and how they differ from K-8. High school is the last grade segment in which KCPS has true market dominance.
In the next and final post in this 2021 enrollment series, we’ll dig in a bit more to the school-level data to determine what’s driving some of the changes in our K-12 enrollment landscape. And we’ll talk about the bigger implications of these changes for our system of public schools, going forward.
