Kindergarten Population in Lynn sees Increase in English Language Learner, Limited English Proficiency Students Over Past Decade

Recently, discussion around the growing Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learner student population in Lynn at the kindergarten level. Last week, the Lynn School Committee voted 4-3 to not require kindergarten teachers to obtain an ESL certification (that decision received a sharp rebuke from the Daily Item).

Looking at the data, Lynn's LEP/ELL student population at the kindergarten level has increased substantially over the last decade. During the 2011-12 school year, 336 out of 1,235 kindergarten students were LEP/ELL; in 2020-21 that ratio was 695 out of 1,086. 

At individual schools, the percentage of LEP/ELL students is much higher than the city rate overall. Below are the schools with the highest number of this student population; these schools represent 55% of the kindergarten population overall and 61% of the kindergarten LEP/ELL population citywide. 

As the student population in Lynn continues to change, it will be interesting to see how the School Department responds to changing priorities and needs as a result (and also how the School Committee responds).

All 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 

Lynn Public Schools Continue to See Increase in Student Population

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the latest enrollment report for the 2017-18 school year. This report indicates that the Lynn Public School system's enrollment has increased by 218 students from 2016-17 report (enrollment figures are accurate as of October 1st of a given school year). This represents a 1.4% increase.

Not all grades in Lynn, however, experienced population growth.

The 12th grade level in Lynn experienced the largest enrollment increase at 12.8% from the last academic year.

Additionally, much of the population increase seen in the city was concentrated at the middle school and high school levels. Interestingly, the elementary school population decreased overall by 3 students from 2016-17.

Lynn English High School, on the other hand, experienced considerable growth (nearly 8%).

Given these changes one has to wonder about changes to specific populations within LPS. Economically disadvantaged students made up 58.6% of the school population this year (though we know there are issues with this statistic), students with disabilities 16% and English Language Learners 21.8%. These figures were 51.7%, 15.5% and 19.9% respectively in 2016-17. The percentage of First Language not English students decreased this school year.


Currently, LPS is the fifth largest public school district in Massachusetts behind Boston, Springfield, Worcester and Brockton.



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