Looking at the Limited English Proficiency Population Affected by Lynn's Overcrowding Issue

Earlier this week, Lynn public school educators and staff spoke out against the large class sizes plaguing the city's schools, a situation that Lynn Teachers Union president Sheila O'Neil said should "the last resort." Of note, those in attendance consistently commented on how these class sizes are specifically impacting students with early or limited English proficiency. 

As of this school year, the Lynn Public School District's population is 64.2% those whose first language is not English and 36.3% limited English proficiency. Across the district, the percent of students in these categories is largely consistent at the middle and high school levels. Lynn English does have the highest percentage of English language learners among these schools. 

Among the consequences of large or overcrowded classrooms are higher dropout rates. Breed teacher Sabrina Markham alluded to this in her school committee testimony on Monday saying that research indicates that students in smaller classes perform better academically in all areas. Markham also said that students in smaller classes "participate more and are more likely to interact with peers and teachers."

Dropouts in Massachusetts are defined as students who leave school during the academic year and do not return by the following October 1st. The dropout rate for English language learners for 2020-21 was 9% for the district as a whole. In other words, 9% of ELL students in Lynn left school during the 2020-21 academic year and had not returned by October 1, 2021. 

Dropout rates at the grade level varied by year and school; for example, Lynn Classical had a 16% dropout for 11th grade English language learners students last year while Lynn Tech had a 3.8% dropout rate for the same grade level and population. 

Given the significant population of English learner students in Lynn, it is fair to say that large or overcrowded classrooms disproportionately impact these students.

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Data: doe.mass.edu

Compared to Surrounding Communities, Lynn Public School District Enrolls Higher Percentages of Non-White, ELL and Economically Disadvantaged Student Populations

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a Policy for Progress webinar titled 'A Conversation for Progress: Perspectives on School Segregation' which featured panelists discussing the segregation in Massachusetts public schools. In large part, the conversation centered on this Fault Lines report on attitudes and perceptions of segregation in the state. Interestingly, according to the report, Massachusetts voters perceived school segregation to be a bigger problem nationwide compared to the state (26% versus 14%). Additionally, nearly half of Massachusetts voters believe that the state's school's have become less segregated in the last 50 years. 

The report goes on to compare the disparities in five neighboring communities including Worcester-Shrewsbury and Lawrence-Andover. In looking at the city of Lynn and some surrounding communities, one can similar disparities as those noted in the Fault Lines report. 

Per the most updated data reported by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the percentage of non-white students (including multi-racial students) in Lynn this school year was 86.9% compared to a range of 13.6% - 57.4% in neighboring communities. Just over two-thirds of the student population in Lynn is Hispanic. 

While Lynn has had a much higher non-white student population for at least the last 27 years (see below), even with a growing a non-white student population in surrounding communities, Lynn's non-white student population continues to be significantly higher than towns like Marblehead and Swampscott. 

Even within Lynn, there is evidence of segregation. For example, 44.2% of white students enrolled at Breed, Marshall and Pickering Middle Schools attend Pickering Middle School; the other 55.8% are split between Breed and Marshall Middle Schools. 

In looking at other selected populations, Lynn also has a much higher percentage of students whose first language is not English and who are English Language Learners and 'economically disadvantaged'. 

All data taken from: www.doe.mass.edu 

Massachusetts Sees Decrease in Student Enrollment, Increase in Economically Disadvantaged Population

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

Massachusetts Sees a 4% Drop in Public School Enrollment

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently released updated public school enrollment figures for the 2020-21 school year. Amidst the pandemic and many districts moving to completely remote learning, the state reported a 4% decrease in student enrollment this year when compared to last year.

Specifically, at the lower grades the state reported at 30% decrease at the pre-kindergarten level, a 11.9% decrease at the kindergarten level and a 5.6% decrease at the first grade level. 

Similar to the Commonwealth as a whole, the Lynn Public School District saw a similar decrease at 3% compared to last school year.

While Lynn did see a slight increase in kindergarten students this year, the district also reported a 42% decrease in pre-kindergarten enrollment and a 11.5% decrease in first grade enrollment. 

Taking a look at the selected student populations at the state level, Massachusetts reported higher percentages of High Needs and Economically Disadvantaged students this year. 

	2019-20	2020-21	Difference
First Language not English	23.0%	23.4%	0.4
English Language Learner	10.8%	10.5%	-0.3
Students w/ Disabilities	18.4%	18.2%	-0.2
High Needs	48.7%	50.9%	2.2
Economically Disadvantaged	32.8%	36.6%	3.8

 

In Lynn, despite a decrease in overall student population, the district reported increases in all of the selected student populations. 

	2019-20	2020-21	Difference
First Language not English	58.7%	61.3%	2.6
English Language Learner	29.8%	31.5%	1.7
Students w/ Disabilities	16.9%	17.7%	0.8
High Needs	76.0%	79.5%	3.5
Economically Disadvantaged	58.2%	65.1%	6.9

In addition to concerns around online learning and whether, when and how to reopen school buildings, changes in student populations, particularly in districts like Lynn, as it relates to the number of students but also the types of students the district is tasked with education given current circumstances is should be given consideration. 

Data from: www.doe.mass.edu 

Over 2 Dozen MA Schools Reported Suspension Rates of Black Students Over 20% in 2018-19

In 2018, a federal report indicated that Black students in the United States saw higher rates of suspension, expulsion and arrest than white classmates. Massachusetts was just one state showing evidence of this disparity as during the 2018-2019 school year, 3% of all students and 2% of white students received an out of school suspension compared to 6.2% of Black students (and 5% of Hispanic/Latino students). I pulled the report on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website and looked filtered by districts schools with suspension rates of 20% or more for Black students; below is what I found.

(Note: while Phoenix Academy Charter is considered a district by the state, it is a single school enrolling students in grades 9 - 12). 

School Name	Students	Students Disciplined	% Out-of-School Suspension
Adams-Cheshire - Hoosac Valley Middle School	17	6	23.5
Bellingham - Bellingham High School	21	6	23.8
Boston - Clarence R Edwards Middle	56	23	33.9
Boston - Community Academy	52	16	30.8
Boston - Excel High School	222	55	23.0
Boston - William McKinley	201	53	23.9
Brockton - Frederick Douglass Academy	47	18	29.8
Brockton - Huntington Therapeutic Day School	34	9	26.5
Fall River - Resiliency Preparatory Academy	50	14	28.0
Fall River - Talbot Innovation School	43	10	20.9
Lowell - The Career Academy	16	6	25.0
Lynn - Lynn English High	195	42	21.5
Medford - Madeleine Dugger Andrews	37	9	24.3
New Bedford - New Bedford High	401	105	24.2
New Bedford - Normandin Middle School	108	31	21.3
New Bedford - Roosevelt Middle School	146	37	25.3
New Bedford - Whaling City Junior/Senior High School	39	18	43.6
Phoenix Charter Academy (District) - Phoenix Charter Academy	29	8	27.6
Pittsfield - John T Reid Middle	86	22	25.6
Pittsfield - Taconic High	118	35	22.9
Rockland - John W Rogers Middle	44	10	22.7
Springfield - Impact Prep at Chestnut	62	16	24.2
Springfield - John F Kennedy Middle	110	39	34.5
Springfield - M Marcus Kiley Middle	174	37	20.7
Springfield - South End Middle School	29	9	27.6
Wareham - Wareham Senior High	61	24	32.8

In total, there were 26 schools that met this criteria with Whaling City Junior/Senior High School in New Bedford posting the highest suspension rate here at 43.6% that school year. At the district level, Phoenix Academy Charter which appears on the list above was the only 'district' with a suspension rate above 20%; there were, however, 31 districts with suspension rates for Black students above 10% including Bellingham, Clinton, Gloucester, Palmer and Wareham. 

As the conversation around systemic racism and black lives expands to continue the conversations  around education and housing and environmental justice, interest in the suspension rates of students of color in terms of consequences such as dropping out and the school-to-prison pipeline needs to consider how to address this issue as far as alternatives to this kind of punishment but more importantly, the specific factors that are resulting in this disparity in a way that makes school a positive experience for all children. 

Data from: www.doe.mass.edu