{"id":85353,"date":"2025-10-31T16:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T20:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=85353"},"modified":"2025-10-31T16:49:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T20:49:34","slug":"inside-the-school-enrollment-shift","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2025\/inside-the-school-enrollment-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the School Enrollment Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin news-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center has-text-position-y-bottom has-secondary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"6599\" height=\"3287\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"An empty hallway in a school\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1.jpg 6599w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-900x448.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1500x747.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-768x383.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1536x765.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-2048x1020.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1200x598.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-500x249.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-992x494.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1920x956.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1000x498.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1984x988.jpg 1984w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/School-enrollment-banner-1-1628x811.jpg 1628w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6599px) 100vw, 6599px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">School &amp; District Leadership<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInside the School Enrollment Shift \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">New research explores the impact of declining public school enrollment in the years following the pandemic <\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar news-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">October 31, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-comments\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#comments\" class=\"wp-prepress-component-comment-counter label has-no-comments\"><span class=\"wp-prepress-component-comment-counter-zero\"><span>0<\/span><\/span><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/authors\/sofia-romero\/\">Sofia Romero<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">New research from BU Wheelock reveals striking shifts in where Massachusetts families are choosing to send their children: public school enrollment has dropped 2% statewide, while private school enrollment has climbed 16% and homeschooling has surged by 50%. The data show that the steepest public school declines have occurred in high-income districts, among White and Asian students, and in the middle grades. As school systems continue to grapple with post-pandemic recovery, these enrollment trends raise pressing questions about equity, funding, and the future of public education in the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">For this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/conversations-with-the-dean\/\">Conversations with the Dean<\/a>, Dean Penny Bishop is joined by BU Wheelock\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/profile\/joshua-goodman\/\">Joshua Goodman<\/a>, associate professor of education and economics, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/profile\/stacy-scott\/\">Stacy Scott<\/a>, senior lecturer, educational leadership &amp; policy studies, as well as Mary Bourque (Wheelock&#8217;99,&#8217;08), executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.  Goodman is also the director of BU Wheelock&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/degree-program\/educational-leadership-policy-studies\/ma-in-educational-policy-studies\/\">Educational Policy Studies program<\/a> and a faculty affiliate of the <a href=\"https:\/\/wheelockpolicycenter.org\/\">Wheelock Educational Policy Center<\/a>. Together, they discuss these enrollment trends and the pressing questions being raised about equity, funding, and the future of public education in the Commonwealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-secondary-color has-text-color\">Watch the webinar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-video responsive-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What\u2019s Happening with School Enrollment    BU Wheelock Conversation with the Dean\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lVLe_G-yyWI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-secondary-color has-text-color\">Highlights from the conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>A range of contributing factors <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>There are a lot of different things going on putting different kinds of pressures on different kinds of communities and schools. And some of it is driven by parents looking for different things from their schools that they&#8217;re getting in private schools. And other pressures may be driven by families not enrolling their students anywhere, perhaps, or fleeing the jurisdiction for fear of immigration enforcement. So there are very different stories.<\/p><cite>Joshua Goodman<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3>What district leaders can do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-default\"><p>Our superintendents, most certainly, are concerned because that impacts budget and it impacts resources. But we need to become diagnosticians\u2014we need to ask . . . why are our students leaving? But also asking the question: Why are other families staying? . . . For many of our superintendents, it&#8217;s time to think about: Do we need to reassess? Do we need to reassess our programming? Our structures, our systems, our staffing models?<\/p><cite>Mary Bourque<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3>How to re-engage with families<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Our greatest challenge is to figure out how we build trust again with our families. . . . The studies all show that increased engagement from parents improves outcomes for schools and for students in terms of attendance, in terms of student performance, and also just in terms of the overall sense of inclusion, and particularly the welcome that parents need to feel. So our first order of business is to think again about how we reach out to families.<\/p><cite>Stacy Scott<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\"><em>Conversations with the Dean are a series of webinars hosted by Dean Bishop that explore some of the most pressing topics in education and human development. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/conversations-with-the-dean\/\"><strong>Conversations with the Dean<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-two news-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"6663\" height=\"4442\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics.jpg 6663w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-992x661.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-1984x1323.jpg 1984w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/10\/Amy-Thompson_Athletics-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6663px) 100vw, 6663px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Applied Human Development<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2025\/power-positive-coaching\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">The Power of Positive Coaching<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">October 14, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"4897\" height=\"3266\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720.jpg 4897w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-992x662.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1984x1323.jpg 1984w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-1499x1000.jpg 1499w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2025\/06\/Wheelock-Forum-2025-2720-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 4897px) 100vw, 4897px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Research<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2025\/why-continued-federal-research-matters\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Why Continued Federal Research Matters<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">July 8, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New research from BU Wheelock reveals striking shifts in where Massachusetts families are choosing to send their children: public school enrollment has dropped 2% statewide, while private school enrollment has climbed 16% and homeschooling has surged by 50%. The data show that the steepest public school declines have occurred in high-income districts, among White and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18489,"featured_media":85388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"School &amp; District Leadership","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[7099,7171,5826,7162,7209,6929,6183],"bu-publication":[6614],"magazine-article-category":[],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[6739,6661,6766,6646,6767],"news-topic":[6725,6936,7124,6789],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/85353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85353"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/85353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85391,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/85353\/revisions\/85391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=85353"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=85353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}