周四 | 美国大型学校面临生源流失（订阅+关注，五星好评）

Big US School Systems Are Losing Students

美国大型学校面临生源流失

Across the United States, pandemic aid money ishelping to fund a growing number of big-city schools with shrinking numbers ofstudents.

When the money runs out in a few years, officials will face adifficult choice: Keep the schools open despite the financial difficulty, orclose them, upsetting communities looking for stability fortheir children.

The summer program at Chalmers School of Excellence in Chicago,Illinois, offers one-on-one teaching that parents love. But school principalRomian Crockett worries the school is becoming too small. Chalmers lost almostone-third of its enrollment duringthe pandemic. Today, only 215 students attend Chalmers.

In Chicago, COVID-19 worsened enrollment declines that beganbefore the virus. Some poor Black neighborhoods in the city, like Chalmers’North Lawndale, have seen families leave in large numbers over the past 10years.

The number of small schools like Chalmers is growing in manyAmerican cities. More than one in five New York City elementary schools hadfewer than 300 students last school year. In Los Angeles, California, over onein four have fewer than 300 students. In Chicago, nearly one in three are thatsmall. In Boston, Massachusetts, it is almost one in two. These numbers comefrom research by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press.

Thomas Chalmers Public School sign is seen outside of school in Chicago,Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Many of theseschools were not designed to be small. Educators worry there will smallerbudgets in the coming years, even as schools continue to recover from thepandemic.

“When you losekids, you lose resources,” Crockett said. “That impactsyourability to serve kids with very high needs.”

A state lawprevents Chicago from closing or combining its schools until 2025. Across theU.S., COVID-19 relief money is helping fund shrinking schools. It is unclearwhat will happen to those schools when the funding runs out.

“My worry isthat we will shut down when we have all worked so hard,” said Yvonne Wooden,who serves on Chalmers’ school council. “That would really hurt ourneighborhood.”

The pandemicquickened enrollment declines in many districts. Many families startedhomeschooling or sought enrollment at charter schools and private schools. Somestudents moved away or stopped attending school for unknown reasons.

Many districtslike Chicago give schools money for each individual student. That means smallschools sometimes struggle to pay for costs like the principal, a counselor orbuilding upkeep.

To deal withthat, many school systems send extra money to small schools, taking money fromlarger schools. In Chicago, the district spends an average of $19,000 yearlyper student at small high schools. Students at larger high schools get$10,000, Chalkbeat and the AP found.

Small schoolsare popular with families, teachers and community members because of theirsupportive environment. Some argue that districts should send more money intothese schools. Many such schools are in Black and Latino neighborhoods thathave been hit hard by the pandemic.

In 2013, 50schools closed in Chicago. Most were in Black neighborhoods. The move damagedtrust between locals and the district. It also hurt learning for students frompoor families, researchers at the University of Chicago found.

When schoolsclose, it is “devastating” for families, said Suleika Soto. She is withthe Boston Education Justice Alliance, which supports underrepresentedstudents.

“And then ifparents don’t like it, then they’ll remove their children from the publicschool system," she said.

Still, some cityschool systems losing students are considering school closures. Earlier thisyear, the school board in Oakland, California, voted to close several smallschools despite protests.

Laiah Collins, 4, center, works on artworksduring a class at Chalmers Elementary school in Chicago, Wednesday, July 13,2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

In other cities, leaders have continued toinvest in small schools.

Chicago received $2.8 billion in COVID-19 relief. It will useabout $140 million of the money to help small schools this school year,officials said.

In Los Angeles and New York City, officials say they arecentering their efforts on bringing students back into school, not closingthem.

But federal relief money will run out in two years. Districtsmust use the money by September 2024. When the money is no longer there, it maybe difficult for districts to keep small schools open.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Bruce Fuller, an education researcherat the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s going to be increasinglydifficult for superintendents tojustify keeping these places open as the number of these schools continues torise.”

I’m Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based onreporting by The Associated Press.

Words in ThisStory

stability— n. the quality orstate of something that is not easily changed or likely to change 稳定（性），稳固（性）

enrollment — v. to enter as amember of or participant in something 登记；入伍

impact — n. the act or forceof one thing hitting another 撞击，冲击力

devastating — adj. causing greatdamage or harm 毁灭性的，极具破坏力的

superintendent — n. a person whodirects or manages a place, department, organization, etc. 主管，负责人