How Is School Enrollment in Washington State Shifting during COVID-19? (original) (raw)

2021, Center on Reinventing Public Education

Washington State schools were the first in the country to close as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, many districts-including Seattle Public Schools-have still not resumed in-person learning. As in other states, disruptions in schooling have impacted public school enrollment. In October 2020, Washington's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) reported that enrollment was down by 3 percent in the state's public schools. Kindergarten enrollment declined by 14 percent. To better understand the enrollment trends in Washington State, we assessed statewide enrollment data across grade levels, among public schools-both district and charter-and for students who receive specialized services (see inset, Enrollment Data). Overall, we found that the greatest enrollment declines were among elementary students and those in special education. But enrollment patterns in the state's nine charter schools differed from their local school districts. Charter school enrollment increased 35 percent since the start of the pandemic last spring, including increases for K-4 students, students with disabilities, and English language learners. Enrollment Data This brief relies on two data sources. First, we use statewide enrollment trends reported by OSPI in October 2020 to examine changes in public school enrollment by grade level and for alternative learning environments. We use these statewide data to make comparisons between public school enrollment in fall 2019 and fall 2020. Second, we use statewide headcount data from the OSPI to examine changes in enrollment for charter schools and the school districts where charter schools are located. These data allow us to examine month-by-month enrollment changes by grade level and student service type; they do not, however, include information on student race/ethnicity or family poverty status.