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Chapter 10 Demographics & School Finance.
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“Improving student learning and ensuring that all children receive an adequate education in the 21st century will be complicated by changing demographics of the students to be educated, as well as of the adults who must pay for education through taxes.” - ………… Janet S. Hansen, 2001.
Demographics & Finance Demographics describe changes in population.
Demographics & Finance, cont. Demographics significantly impact the costs of providing public education.
Until 15 or 20 years ago, “demographics” only involved the number of students enrolling each fall and if they were coming from different neighborhoods than last year. For the most part, we were not concerned with changing racial & ethnic demographics. Changes in Our Understanding of Demographics
Today’s Schools Have More & More Diverse Students • These increasing racial, ethnic, and economic groups have a large impact on where and how education dollars should be spent • Equity and adequacy issues face schools with changing demographics
Demographic Changes Affect Teaching & Learning • Without proper planning and budgeting, students’ issues of language, values, traditions, & behaviors will likely prevent otherwise effective teachers from understanding, developing strong relationships with, & successfully teaching students from backgrounds different than their own
School leaders must be aware of the trends in demographics if schools are to teach all students to high levels of learning. Demographics Impact Student Achievement
This Chapter Will • Analyze state and local demographic shifts in student population and examine the associated financial impact on public schools • Make some predictions as to what the future demographics will look like in your locality • Examine some demographic issues involved in teacher recruitment, selection, & professional education to meet the students’ needs in schools
When the school district’s population changes, families from other cultures or economic backgrounds move into the neighborhood and enroll their children in school Middle class teachers’ beliefs and behaviors typically do not prepare them to understand, motivate, or instruct students from other cultures Understanding Diverse Students’ Learning Needs
For example, many believe that “wealthy people are smarter” Teachers believing this myth will not have sufficiently high expectations for students from poverty backgrounds and will be less likely to teach these students to high achievement levels U.S. Schools Operate on Middle Class Norms & Values
Students Bring Own “Rules” • Students from poverty backgrounds bring their own “hidden rules” into the school that make classroom management and a learning focus difficult for teachers who do not understand these behaviors
Students Bring Own “Rules”, cont. • Students from poverty homes are likely to believe that security comes from relationships rather than school or work • They are used to higher noise levels & receiving key information nonverbally
Teachers Desks in straight rows Teachers lecturing Only one speaker at a time Teachers giving information Students Relationships matter most Noise is good Non-verbal tells REAL story Other students are entertaining Teacher & Student Classroom Learning“Comfort Levels” Differ
Teacher – Student Disconnects & Achievement • The results for student achievement are likely to be discouragingly self-fulfilling • Poor student achievement among students in the new demographic would greatly increase community school distrust and would eventually require significant educator time and resources to resolve
Teacher Attitudes & Student Achievement • Unless teachers recognize their personal biases & ignorance about students from different backgrounds --and appropriately adjust their views and instructional practices -- students & families will perceive teacher attitudes as disrespectful … or worse • Results for student achievement are likely to be discouragingly self-fulfilling
Poor student achievement among students in the new demographic would greatly increase community school distrust and would eventually require significant educator time and resources to resolve Student Achievement & Community Trust
10 Years Ago Students: 98% White, affluent 5% Free or Reduced Price Lunches Teachers: Mirrored students Local Economy: Began outsourcing Today Students: 47% White; 27% Hispanic 23% Black 93% Free/Reduced Lunches 30% Second Language Learners Teachers: Still mostly White, middle class Local Economy: Loss of well-paying jobs; loss of fiscal resources Suburban School District A
10 Years Ago Students: 98% White, affluent 5% Free or Reduced Price Lunches Teachers: Mirrored students Local Economy: Began outsourcing Today Students: 47% White; 27% Hispanic 23% Black 93% Free/Reduced Lunches 30% Second Language Learners Teachers: Still mostly White, middle class Local Economy: Loss of well-paying jobs; loss of fiscal resources What is Financial Impact of Educating These Students?
Planning for Schooling 10 Years Later Requires… • Revised curriculum • Professional development for staff • Equipment & facility needs • Recruited a more diverse staff • Programs & practices to decrease the achievement gap… if the schools are to remain responsive to their community’s needs
Demographics Impact School Finance • School leaders must be aware of local demographic trends if schools are to teach all students to high levels in a public accountability environment • Keeping pace with changing demographics requires funding at higher levels than before
Poverty & School Leadership • Educational leaders in high poverty areas must plan to meet these challenges with highly qualified teachers and meaningful programs that address the real at-risk behaviors facing students, while building community support for the direction being taken
Percentage Change in Public K-12 Enrollment by State,Fall, 1996 – Fall, 2001
States & Localities Must Plan for Increases, Decreases, & Cultural/Ethnic Differences in Student Populations…& Their Costs
Expected Changes in Student Populations • The racial/ethnic backgrounds of the school-aged population have changed • While white, non-Hispanic persons will still be the majority, this demographic is projected to decrease as a part of the overall population by 30%age points
Expected Changes in Student Populations • The Black non-Hispanic population is predicted to maintain consistently around 14% of the population • The Hispanic group has increased and is projected to almost double between 2000 and 2040 to 28% of the population • The Asian/Pacific Islander/Other group continues to rise by 1%age point per decade
Medically fragile students Second language learners Students from other countries bring still more learning (and occasionally physical) needs into the classroom Special Needs Students inNew Demographics
Demographics Can Help Us Plan for Potential Costs • The Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001, indicating 2000 data, can help us predict what the kindergarten class of 2005 might be like* • For example, it is known that poverty increases risk of low birth weight, & low birth weight is a good predictor of a child having learning disabilities in school…with increased enrollment of poverty students, we can expect increased special education services and related costs
Poverty Infant & child mortality Low birth weight Single parents Teen mothers Mothers using alcohol, tobacco, or drugs Transience Child abuse & neglect Lack of quality day care Low wage jobs Unemployed parents Lack of access to health and medical care Low parent education Poor nutrition Lack of contact with English as the primary language 15 Risk Factors & Young Children’s Success in School
Poverty is a Risk Factor • Poverty impacts & enlarges all other risk factors • Fully 22% of America’s children live in poverty • America has the highest percentage of children in poverty of any of the 28 advanced industrial democratic countries • The U.S. also has the largest gap between rich and poor children • Poorest children experience difficulty in general and specifically in school
Poverty Statistics • 1/3 of Black & Hispanic children live in poverty • Only 10% of White children are raised in poverty • 14 million school-aged children in poverty in 2000: • 9 million were White children • 4 million were Black children • 4 million were Hispanic children (included above)
Predicting School Population from Local Poverty Rates • The poorest families (those with income less than $10,000 per year) have yearly birth rates of 73 per 1,000 females • Families with incomes greater than $75,000 per year have yearly birth rates of 50 per 1,000 females • If poverty rates are increasing in a school district or a state, it may be safe to predict greater enrollment growth than where income is higher
Localities with increasing rates of children qualifying for free and reduced lunch programs need to plan for early intervention programs dealing with resultant school issues from a prevention perspective instead of a reactionary perspective Fiscal Planning Needed with Increased Local Poverty
If poverty rates are increasing in a school district or a state, it may be safe to predict greater enrollment growth than where income is higher It is a wise fiscal investment to adequately meet poor children’s educational needs as education appears to be the only intervention that breaks the poverty cycle Fiscal Planning Needed with Increased Local Poverty, cont.
Early intervention programs address school issues from a prevention perspective, & include: Preschool programs Expanded Head Start programs Parent education programs Quality day care programs Professional development programs for educators to better meet students’ learning needs School Finance Planning to Teach Children of Poverty:
America has the highest known migration level of any first world country 43 million Americans move each year 14% stay within the same county, 4% within the same state, but to a different county, and 4% to a different state Population TransienceIncreases Schooling Costs
Low-income children move more frequently than their higher income counterparts They lose continuity of instruction & learning along with having to adjust to a new home, friends, teachers Population Transience Increases Schooling Costs, cont.
Losing continuity of instruction, learning, & relationships often reduces students’ achievement Frequent moves contribute to the “Achievement Gap” Population Transience Increases Schooling Costs, cont.
Approximately 80% of those who live in Pennsylvania were born there Florida, on the other hand, has a relatively high transience rate: only 30% of the residents were born in the state Transience Varies State to State
Teachers in Pennsylvania and Florida may start and end the year with 25 students The Florida teacher, however, unlike the Pennsylvania teacher, may have 20 different students from the 25 who started the year Transience Varies State to State
Educational leaders need to plan programs that ease the educational disadvantages of transience for students & provide professional development for those who deal with these students Transience is a Risk Factor
Increases family stress and conflict Increases feelings of alienation, loss Linked to psychiatric disorders & behavior problems for preschool children Increase probability of needing special education in schools Areas with transience issues, include: Military bases & locales High poverty areas Agricultural areas with migrant workers Should be aware of the related emotional problems & implement programs for these children & families. Transience Increases Risk for School Problems
Illegal Immigrants & School Finance • It is estimated that the U.S. has approximately 5 million illegal immigrants • Almost sixty five percent of these individuals live in one of three states – California (2,000,000), Texas (700,000), and New York (540,000) • Estimate that one in five illegal immigrants is school-aged, means more than 1 million such children attending U.S. schools
Illegal Immigrants & School Finance, cont. • In the early to mid-1970’s Texas was spending millions of state dollars each year educating children of illegal immigrants • The legislators thought that since these students were in the country illegally, Texas should not have to spend its tax dollars educating them • In May 1975, the Texas legislature revised its laws to withhold state education funds to those school districts for children who were not legally admitted into the United States
Illegal Immigrants & School Finance, cont. • The United States Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe, 1982, determined that undocumented children of alien parents could not be denied a public education • The court reasoned that the Fourteenth Amendment provides that “No State shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws
Illegal Immigrants & School Finance, cont. • The financial impact on Texas was enormous • There may have been 50,000 children of illegal immigrants in the Texas public schools • The state share per pupil in 1975 may have been $2,000 …with the total yearly spending over $100,000,000
The fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the US is Hispanic The lack of contact with English as the primary language is a risk factor in school Second Language Learners& School Finance % of Hispanic School-Aged Children
In 2005, if 15% of new students enrolling in U.S. public schools is Hispanic, 4,791,200 children fall into this category If 10 % of these children are ESOL (needing English language instruction) and we use the Florida model of pupil weighting at 1.298, the yearly additional cost to educate these children is $10,742,598,662 Second Language Learners& School Finance, cont.