VOA慢速英语--在入学率下降后，公立学校希望学生秋季归来

After Enrollment² Drops, Public Schools Hope Students Return for Autumn

Ashley Pearce's child was ready to start kindergarten last year in Maryland's Montgomery County public school system. But when she learned the year would begin online, Pearce sent her daughter to a private Catholic³ school nearby. It was offering in-person classes.

Now Pearce is debating whether her daughter should return to the local public school. She is unsure of moving after her daughter made friends at the Catholic school. She is also worried the school would go back online if coronavirus cases increase again.

Pearce told The Associated Press, "It's going to be fine if we stay where we are, and that stability⁴ for my family is probably the way we're going to go."

Many school systems across the country lost students during the pandemic. And they hope when school starts again this fall, families will choose public schools. Some schools have made efforts to connect with families of young children. Some are placing signs all over communities. Others are reaching out to families with direct phone calls.

There are early signs that enrollment may not recover, says a study by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press. With fewer students, public schools could receive less money to operate. But for now, money from pandemic support is keeping school budgets strong.

Chris Cram⁵ is the director of communications for the Montgomery County Public School system where Pearce lives. He said the county has lost between 3,000 and 5,000 students since last year.

Drops in enrollment could also change the racial makeup⁶ of the country's public schools. The AP/Chalkbeat study found that enrollment declines⁸ vary based on race. Enrollment in preschool to 12th grade dropped by 2.6 percent among 41 states last fall. But the decline⁷ was highest among white students, whose enrollment fell more than 4 percent.

White families' decisions seemed based mostly on whether their child's public school offered in-person learning. States, where more students had online classes, saw larger declines among white students.

The country's Hispanic student population saw the biggest change in enrollment from before the pandemic. Enrollment dropped 1.5 percent among Hispanic students, a population that had been America's fastest-growing student group. That could be because of the problems Hispanics faced during the pandemic. The group saw high rates of job losses and high rates of death and hospitalization from the pandemic.

"As you can imagine, families (and their children) made a wide variety of decisions that were pandemic related,' Cram said in an email to VOA.

Cram said some students left Montgomery County to attend private school or home school. He said other families left for economic reasons, moving to less costly⁹ areas.

"In the coming weeks we will be calling, mailing and door-knocking to engage and encourage these families to return," Cram said.

Richard Welsh is a professor at New York University who studies student enrollment. He said it could be difficult for schools to reconnect with families who left public schools for many reasons. Welsh said schools will have to find different ways to bring back students.

" ‘We're open for business and we're committed to in-person learning' " could be targeted to white families. But for Black and Hispanic families, Welsh said, schools are talking about safety measures.

One such effort is going on in San Antonio, Texas. There, the mostly Hispanic school district saw enrollment drop just over 5 percent. Officials there expect enrollment will rise this fall but not to pre-pandemic levels.

To build trust with families worried about in-person learning, school officials have held town meetings with families. There, families can ask experts questions about the virus and COVID-19 vaccines¹⁰. The school will also continue to offer fully¹¹ online classes.

San Antonio school officials are working to connect with every family who left or did not enroll¹ their child in preschool or kindergarten. And Pedro Martinez, head of the school system, said they are contacting families by phone or with a home visit.

Martinez said he is centered on classes for younger students, where enrollment dropped the most. But he is also concerned about older students from poor families. Many got jobs to help their families during the pandemic. And they continued to attend online classes this spring so they could work, Martinez said.

"It's so easy for a 16- or 17-year-old to prioritize work over school," he said.

Cram said Montgomery County will also offer fully online school, in part to help working students.

It is unclear exactly how many families left for private schools, like Pearce. Private school enrollment grew 5 percent or more this year in states like Delaware and New Hampshire. But in other states, including New York, Louisiana, Indiana and Colorado, private school enrollment fell by 3 percent or more.

It was not just wealthy families that left public schools. There were large enrollment declines among students from both poor and rich families in the 35 states that provided data.

Cram said, "some students will be coming back but not all.

Words in This Story

kindergarten — n. a school or class for very young children

stability — n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change

enrollment — n. the number of people at a school or college.

makeup — n. the way in which something is put together or arranged

engage — v. to get and keep (someone's attention, interest, etc.)

encourage — v. to make (someone) more determined¹², hopeful, or confident

commit — n to say that (someone or something) will definitely do something : to make (someone or something) obligated to do something

prioritize — v. to organize (things) so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first

1 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

2 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

3 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

4 stability   

n.稳定，稳固

参考例句：

• The situation is tending towards stability.局势趋于稳定。
• She lacks emotional stability.她的情绪不稳定。

5 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

6 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

7 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

8 declines   

辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的第三人称单数 )； （道路、物体等）下倾； （太阳）落下； （在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• As one grows older one's memory declines. 一个人的记忆力随着年老而衰退。
• Hearing sensitivity declines with age. 听觉因年老而衰退。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。