School-Age 'Millenni-boom' Predicted for Next 100 Years

Changing Face Over the next decade, the United States is expected to add some 2.5 million people a year, on average, bringing its population to 298 million in 2010.

The school-age population, ages 5 to 17, is also projected to grow in the years ahead, from about 51.5 million children today to 55.2 million in 2020, an increase of 7.2 percent.

But that increase won't follow a straight, upward trajectory. Instead, the nation is likely to see a slow, steady rise in the school-age population over the next five years, followed by a dip, and then a surge in enrollments through 2020. After that, the U.S. Department of Education predicts steady increases through 2100, a pattern it has dubbed the "millenni- boom." By the end of the 21st century, the United States is projected to have a total of 94 million youngsters...