Newark’s charter schools are seeing fewer students. Where are they going?

“Sign up for Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter to get the latest news about the city’s public school system delivered to your inbox. After years of growth, Newark’s charter school enrollment is slowing down this school year, raising questions about where students are going. Charter schools added 200 students this school year, pushing total enrollment to 21,588. That’s an increase of less than 1%, a fraction of the sector’s annual 2% to 3% growth since 2019, according to a Chalkbeat analysis. At the same time, Newark Public Schools lost more than 700 students this school year, driven largely by a decrease in multilingual learners. But the enrollment changes point to something bigger than families choosing where to send their students. Harry Lee, president of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association, suspects the changes “are due to macro level political issues” and it remains unclear if this is the start of a longer decline or a one-year blip following steady enrollment growth across both sectors in Newark. “Throughout the country, we’re seeing this: Immigrant families are reporting that they’re not sending their children to school because of immigration enforcement concerns,” Lee said. “This is the first year that’s happened.” Charter schools in Newark enroll over a third of the city’s public school population and represent about 5% of public school enrollment across the state. Across Newark, the city’s Hispanic student population drove nearly all of Newark Public Schools’ enrollment surge since 2019, fueled by a growth in families from the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. Newark’s entire population has also grown, reaching just over 320,622 residents this year, according to city figures . But a closer look at school state data shows enrollment shifts are sharpest among multilingual learners. Charter schools enrolled 1,215 multilingual learners this school year, up from 961 the year before, according to the New Jersey Children’s Foundation data explorer, which allows users to analyze state data. At the same time, traditional public schools lost 744 multilingual learners but still enrolled more than 11,000, according to state data. Although it’s unclear if Newark families are choosing charter schools over traditional public schools, research from Brookings links heightened immigration enforcement to chronic absenteeism, drops in school enrollment, and negative outcomes among children in immigrant families. Recent immigration enforcement in Newark and protests at Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in the industrialized area of the East Ward, could also have an impact on enrollment and attendance. Charter schools enrolled fewer than 10% of the city’s multilingual learners this school year. Previously, district leaders have raised concerns about charter schools drawing a disproportionate share of those students. In 2024, the district hired a marketing firm to attract charter school students into traditional public schools, even as it surpassed charter school growth in 2023. But those dips in enrollment carry financial consequences for Newark Public Schools, the state’s largest school district. In New Jersey, when parents enroll their child in charter schools, state aid follows them. Vivian Cox, president of the Urban League of Essex County, told Chalkbeat that the funding structure puts the district in a difficult position. “It’s certainly going to make a difference to have lost the 700 students and the funding that goes with them,” Cox said. “It helps provide the capacity to serve, you know, the thousands of students that are in the district.” Cox also pointed to the recently released national Education Scorecard, which found Newark Public Schools students are improving faster than nearly every district in the country, but are performing two grade levels behind the national average in math and reading. She worries that financial pressures could cut back on resources and hinder gains. “If you take resources out, how does that impact sustaining and improving progress? That’s what comes to my mind.” But Lee thinks otherwise. Newark Public Schools have gotten over $600 million in additional state and local aid since 2017, and for the upcoming school year, will receive a record-high $1.38 billion from the state. Similarly, charter payments continue to be one of the district’s largest financial pressures, totaling $421 million in the upcoming school year. “I think it is just not the right argument, especially with the way that school funding has increased for districts and charters over time, to blame charters for any revenue challenges that the district may have,” Lee said. Lee also rejected the idea that charter growth comes at the expense of traditional public schools. He pointed to Newark’s 93rd percentile ranking from the Education Scorecard as evidence that both charter and traditional public schools have improved together. “A rising tide has lifted all boats,” Lee said. “Newark is one of the clearest examples in the country of how charters do not hurt districts, but that district outcomes have actually increased over time, and that’s a really positive thing.” Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org .

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Chalkbeat. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.chalkbeat.org.