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School Enrollment
Pinellas County’s public and
private school enrollment totaled 125,590 students for the 2006-2007
school year, 2.0% above 2005-2006 and 1.9% below the peak enrollment
of 128,000 students reached in 2002-2003. Based on preliminary
public school enrollment data for 2007-2008 (private school data for
2007-2008 is not yet available), total public and private school
enrollment for 2007-2008 is likely to fall back to the 2005-2006
level.
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According to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), the
decline in private school enrollment in 2005-2006 may be the
result of a change in the reporting methodology of the FLDOE’s
annual survey rather than an actual decrease in enrollment
(Source: Florida’s Private Schools, Annual Report, 2005-2006, page
1, School Choice, FLDOE).
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- The decline
since the 2002-2003 peak occurred in both public and private schools, with
elementary schools accounting for the largest portion of the decline.
- Elementary
school enrollment peaked at 61,939 students in 1999-2000 and has
declined steadily through 2006-2007, for an overall decline of 8.9%
during this period. Enrollment in 2006-2007 totaled 56,436 students, a
decline of 2.7% from the prior year. This represents the largest
year-to-year decrease experienced since the 1999-2000 peak.
- Middle
school enrollment totaled 29,153 students in 2006-2007, 5.4% below the
peak of 30,806 students in 2002-2003.
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High school enrollment, which declined for the first time
in many years in 2005-2006, rebounded to a new high of 40,001 students
in 2006-2007.
- Private school
enrollment in 2006-2007 accounted for 13.5% of total Pinellas County
school enrollment, up slightly from 2005-2006 but below the previous three
year period. For the most part, this decline reflects the reporting
problem identified above, which inflated enrollment prior to 2005-2006.
- Private
schools’ share of total high school enrollment is significantly below
that of both elementary and middle school.
- The growth of
Pinellas County’s total school enrollment has generally lagged behind
comparably sized counties except Duval, reflecting the slower growth of
Pinellas’ youth population. Based on future projections of Pinellas’
youth population, it is expected that the growth of Pinellas’ school
enrollment will be modest.
- Pinellas
County’s private schools’ share of total school enrollment has remained
within a narrow range over the years and is above the state as a whole.
Comparative trends in private schools’ share of total school enrollment
for counties of comparable size are shown below.
Visit the following websites for Florida’s public
and private school enrollment data:
Florida School Indicators
Report:
http://data.fldoe.org/fsir/
Private School Annual Reports:
http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/Private_Schools/annual_reports.asp
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 |
