Comparing Massachusetts' Public School Enrollment: 1993 versus 2018

Currently, the Massachusetts State Legislature is set to revisit discussion around the public school funding formula which was initially implemented with the Education Reform Act of 1993. In 25 years, aside from minor changes, the funding formula has remained largely unchanged despite a significantly different educational and financial environment than the one that existed a quarter century ago. Additionally, in that time, the state's student population has changed as well.

First, the public K-12 student population has increased 8%. The state's largest five districts in 1993-94 were Boston, Springfield, Worcester, New Bedford and Lowell representing 15.8% of the state's school population; Brockton and Lynn have since replace the latter two districts rounding out a group that now represents 14% of state public school enrollment.

Second, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students has increased 12 points and the Asian student population 4.3.

More importantly, however, the percentage of English Language Learners has doubled in the past 25 years. (Note: The metric for defining low income/economically disadvantaged has changed in recent years such that it is not possible to make a historical comparison).

Boston, the state's largest district, has also seen shifts in the past two decades. Most notably, the African American/Black population has declined while the Hispanic/Latino population has nearly doubled.

Similar to the state overall, Boston has also seen an increase in the English Language Learner population.

In 1993-94, there were 63,738 students enrolled in the Boston Public School District; this year enrollment is 51,443.

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For more information on the Massachusetts Chapter 70 Funding Formula:

• Demystifying the Chapter 70 Funding Formula: How the Massachusetts Education Funding System Works
• Public School Funding in Massachusetts: Where We Are, What Has Changed, and How We Compare to Other States

For more on the proposed PROMISE Act: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/SD101


Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has also put forth a proposal to make changes to way that the state funds its public schools.

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Source: www.doe.mass.edu

Lynn Public School District Student Demographics 2015-16

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently published the 2014-15 demographic reports for public school districts in the state. Per the DESE data, there are 15,098 students enrolled in the Lynn Public School district (which does not include those enrolled in charter school) as of October 1, 2015. This is an increase of 227 from October 1, 2014.

Kindergarten enrollment as of October 1, 2015 is down from 2014 with 130 less students enrolled in kindergarten in LPS.




Still, enrollment in LPS overall has been steadily on the rise over the last few school years. The student populations at Lynn Classical, Lynn English and Lynn Tech (combined) is up 2.7% this year compared to school year 2014-15.



From school year 2010-11 to 2015-16, student enrollment in LPS has increased 11.4%.


In terms of the race/ethnicity, the breakdown for the Lynn Public School system as a whole is as follows (the numbers in parentheses represent the percent change from school year 2014-15):

• African American/Black: 10.1% (-0.6)
• Asian: 9.1% (-0.1)
• Hispanic/Latino: 58.2% (+1.8)
• Native American: 0.3% (0)
• White: 18.3% (-1.3)
• Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic: 3.9% (+0.2)

In terms of special populations, LPS is comprised of a significant number of students who speak English as a second language as well as low income students.

• First Language not English: 54.0% (-0.1)
• English Language Learner: 19.5% (+0.7)
• Special Education: 15.4% (0)

Additionally, the Lynn Public School district's student population is 52.9% male and 47.1% female.

Below is a breakdown of the special populations listed above by individual school. The plus or minus numbers in the 'Total Enrollment' column is the change from 2014-15.

Key
FLnE = First Language not English
ELL = English Language Learner

	FLnE*	ELL*	Special Education	Total Enrollment
Aborn	21.2%	5.1%	9%	255 (-3)
Brickett	41.2%	17.9%	8.6%	291 (0)
Callahan	33.8%	10.3%	20.5%	497 (+1)
Cobbet	69.9%	38.3%	9.8%	601 (+6)
Connery	69%	33.9%	6.1%	635 (+24)
Drewicz	64.2%	33.4%	5.9%	506  (-5)
Early Childhood Ctr	50.4%	33.1%	17.6%	278 (-8)
Fallon	23.1%	1.9%	100%	52 (+12)
Ford	67.1%	34.1%	5.9%	507 (-19)
Harrington	61.4%	31.2%	13.1%	642 (-14)
Hood	45.8%	20.1%	7.6%	487 (+33)
Ingalls	55.5%	27%	10%	688 (-50)
Lincoln-Thomson	37.2%	16.9%	5.7%	261 (-31)
Lynn Woods	9.3%	2.5%	16.8%	161 (-7)
Sewell Anderson	32%	15.4%	23.5%	272 (-25)
Shoemaker	21.7%	2%	38.5%	304 (+6)
Sisson	28.2%	8.6%	13.3%	443 (-11)
Tracy	63.2%	38%	5%	424 (+21)
Washington	57.2%	31.7%	9%	467 (+17)
Breed	60%	10.1%	16.3%	1,239 (+42)
Marshall	63%	14.8%	15.3%	1,066 (+65)
Pickering	31.4%	1%	19.7%	618 (-29)
Lynn Classical	56.5%	15.2%	14.5%	1,640 (+29)
Lynn English	59.1%	19.1%	13.3%	1,646 (+30)
Lynn Tech	61.7%	11.3%	28.4%	906 (+51)
Fecteau-Leary	66.5%	34%	26.4%	212 (+93)

 


All Data Taken from: www.doe.mass.edu