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School Enrollment
Pinellas County
Total Public and Private School Enrollment
Pinellas County’s public and private school enrollment totaled
119,189 students for the 2008-09 school year, a decline of 2.2% from
2007-08 and 6.9% from the peak enrollment of 128,000 students
reached in 2002-03. Based on public school enrollment data for
2009-10 (private school data for 2009-10 will not be available until
late summer 2010), total public and private school enrollment for
2009-10 is expected to decline slightly.
- The decline in total enrollment from the 2002-03 peak occurred
in both public and private schools.
- It is important to note that individual county private
school enrollment data reported by the Florida Department of
Education may understate actual enrollment. Please see the note
at the end of this section for details.
- Elementary schools accounted for the largest portion of
the decline in total public and private school enrollment.
- Elementary school enrollment peaked at 61,939 students
in 1999-2000 and has declined steadily through 2008-09, an
overall decline of 14.1%. Enrollment in 2008-09 totaled
53,205 students, a decline of 2.3% from 2007-08.
- Middle school enrollment in 2008-09 totaled 27,680
students and was 10.1% below the 2002-03 peak.
- High school enrollment totaled 38,304 in 2008-09, a
decrease of 2.8% from the prior year. Although enrollment
has leveled off in recent years, further declines are
expected.
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Pinellas County Public School Enrollment
Pinellas County’s total
public school enrollment has been in a downtrend since 2003-04 when
enrollment reached a peak of 110,120. Since then, total enrollment
has declined 6.1% to 103,396 in 2009-10. The decline is primarily
centered in elementary and middle schools.
Pinellas County Private School Enrollment
Pinellas County’s private
school enrollment reached a peak in 2004-05 and declined sharply in
2005-06 reflecting, in part, a change in reporting methodology. The
decline through 2008-09 is the result of declines in student
membership and reporting compliance issues discussed at the end of
this section.
- Private schools’ share of total
Pinellas County public and private school enrollment reached a
peak of 14.2% in 2004-05 and declined to 12.4% in 2008-09, the
lowest share since 1997-98.
School Enrollment Comparison – Pinellas vs. Other
Counties
The growth in total school
enrollment for Florida, Pinellas and comparably sized counties has
slowed considerably in recent years. Based on long-term projections
of Pinellas County’s youth population by the Bureau of Business and
Economic Research, University of Florida, it is expected that
Pinellas’ school enrollment will continue to decline. In contrast,
school enrollment for Florida as a whole is expected to increase.
- Private schools’ share of total enrollment varies
considerably for comparably sized counties.
- The sharp decline in Hillsborough County’s share in
2007-08 reflects, for the most part, the failure of ten
private schools to submit their enrollment for the annual
survey.
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Visit the following websites for Florida’s public
and private school enrollment data:
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Note on Accuracy of Private School Enrollment
Data
Private school enrollment data are
reported by the FLDOE at (www.floridaschoolchoce.org).
Although Florida Statute 1002.42 requires each private school
to provide enrollment data in their annual survey submitted to
the FLDOE, many private schools throughout the state do not
submit their report in a timely manner. As a result, the
published private school enrollment data for a given period
understate actual student enrollment. Moreover, the FLDOE does
not update the published numbers to reflect late reporting
schools and they do not verify the accuracy of the data
submitted.
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Read More About Education and School Discipline in Pinellas County:
2006 NAACP School Discipline Report for
Florida
http://www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/pipeline/arresting_development_full_report.pdf
Florida Department of Education
FCAT Results:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/results/default.asp
Interfaith assault on
illiteracy—literacy efforts in Childs Park
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/12/Neighborhoodtimes/Interfaith_assault_on.shtml
FCAT scores mixed:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/24/Southpinellas/Science_FCAT_scores_m.shtml
FCAT failures delay graduation:
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/5/21/251667.html
FCAT scoring errors:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/23/State/State_admits_FCAT_sco.shtml
School Matters - Pinellas County School District
http://www.schoolmatters.com/pdf/reports/
FL/D/954678/D954678-pinellas-county-school-district.pdf
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) School Public Accountability Reports:
http://doeweb-prd.doe.state.fl.us/
eds/nclbspar/index.cfm |
