June 2, 2005Schools in U.S. Set Enrollment RecordBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESSWASHINGTON, June 1 (AP) - A record 49.6 million students filled American elementary and secondary schools in 2003, breaking a mark set by their baby-boomer parents and giving educators a new generation of challenges, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. The growth largely stems from children born to the baby boomers, the bureau said. Rising immigration played a part, too, in pushing enrollment past the 1970 record of 48.7 million. "You could have predicted this back in 1970 when we had all those kids," said Mark Mather, a demographer for the Population Reference Bureau, which assesses population trends. "We knew they were going to have kids of their own. We have this classic echo effect going on." The record tally of students in the first 12 grades poses steep challenges for schools: recruiting teachers, helping children who do not speak English, keeping class sizes manageable and coming up with financial aid for college students. In population rings outside urban areas and in Western states like Nevada and California, the growth has been intense, increasing demands on schools. "They just really don't have the fiscal capacity to match this," said Scott Young, senior policy specialist in education for the National Conference of State Legislatures. In districts outside Atlanta, Houston and Las Vegas, enrollment has soared more than 20 percent in the last five years. Immigration helped fuel the boom. A total of 22 percent of students had at least one foreign-born parent. |