Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.:

CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.

Now comes the "stunning" news that CPS enrollment is down by 4,400 studentsthis year. The district reports that student enrollment on the 20th day of school was at 392,285, falling below 400,000 for the first time in over 20 years. As a result, the district will lose millions more in state and federal funds on top of the already major budget cuts slated for public education.

But why should anyone be surprised by the numbers? Or by the fact that most of the decline was seen on the city's south and west sides among mainly African American students? Or by the fact that the decline was seen primarily in district-run schools while privately-run, publicly-funded charters schools grew slightly (3%)?

Wasn't this exactly Rahm Emanuel and Barbara Byrd-Bennett's plan when they closed 50 schools on the south and west sides, replacing them with dozens of new privately-run charters and selective-enrollment schools on the north side?

Now, despite the drop in enrollment, the board is planning to open dozens of new Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.: