CEP primer offers snapshot of schools
08/22/06 -- A new primer on education shows that public schools educate 88 percent of the nation’s 54.9 million students in 14,063 school districts with 90 percent of funding coming from state and local sources, not the federal government.
The report -- produced by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy group -- is meant to give an overall snapshot of the nation’s public schools so it relies on national averages.
According to the CEP report, more than one-third (36 percent) of public school children are from low-income families, one in every 10 public school students is an English language learner, about one school-age child in five is a child of immigrants, and high school students are taking more challenging courses.
The report also points out:
• About 17 percent of public school students attend schools of choice; 3 percent attend magnet schools; and 2 percent attend charter schools.
• The number of home-schooled children has grown markedly since 1999, but it still represents a very small share (2.2 percent) of the school-age population.
• Four out of 10 public school students are children of color -- a number that is expected to increase in coming years.
• About 35 percent of the nation’s school districts are very small, enrolling fewer than 600 students, but the very largest districts -- the top 2 percent -- enroll a third of all students.
• Almost half (47 percent) of all public school teachers have advanced degrees and the majority (58 percent) have more than 10 years of experience.
• In addition to educating students, public schools provide lunch, speech therapists, nurses, counselors, psychologists, extended day or before or after-school daycare, social workers, medical health care services, as well as prekindergarten programs.
| Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2006, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |