Earlier, I noted that the percentage of Economically Disadvantaged students in the Lynn Public School District increased 6.9 points from the 2019-20 school year to the 2020-21 school year. Economically disadvantaged is defined as student participation in one or more of the following state administered programs:
- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- the Transitional Assistance for Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC)
- the Department of Children and Families' (DCF) foster care program
- MassHealth (Medicaid)
Taking a look at the non-charter school districts in the state with the highest percentages of Economically Disadvantaged students this year, all of the top ten districts saw increases as well.
2019-20 | 2020-21 | Difference |
|
| Springfield | 77.6% | 81.8% | 4.2 |
| Holyoke | 78.1% | 81.4% | 3.3 |
Lawrence |
70.7% | 78.5% | 7.8 |
| Southbridge | 71.6% | 77.2% | 5.6 |
New Bedford |
68.0% | 74.0% | 6.0 |
Fall River |
70.0% | 73.8% | 3.8 |
| Chelsea | 63.9% | 70.6% | 6.7 |
| North Adams | 61.9% | 66.6% | 4.7 |
| Fitchburg | 61.9% | 66.4% | 4.5 |
| Brockton | 57.5% | 65.5% | 8.0 |
Statewide, the percentage of Economically Disadvantaged students increased from 32.8% last year to 36.6% this year. In terms of pure numbers, this equates to the 333,829 Economically Disadvantaged students this year versus 310,873 in 2019-20.
Data taken from: www.doe.mass.edu
