Enrollment

This is an aerial shot of a large public high school complex shot on a Sunday with nobody around. This image features multiple buildings, a running track, football fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts parking lots and a residential neighborhood surrounding the image. Shot from the open window of a small plane.
Illustration by Education Week + Getty
School & District Management Closing a School? Don't Expect to Save Money, a New Study Warns
The hope is that closing schools can reduce fixed costs. A new study looks into whether that happens.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, June 11, 2026
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5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
English Learners Opinion Immigrant Student Enrollment Is Falling. How Should Schools Respond?
Enrollment patterns may change, but schools still need to take care of their English learners.
Larry Ferlazzo, June 3, 2026
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6 min read
Immigration Enforcement Texas 26036856269438
Hutto High School students protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Hutto, Texas. New national survey data found that immigration enforcement continues to affect schools.
Jay Janner/STATESMAN.COM via AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Schools Saw Rising Student Anxiety From Immigration Enforcement in 2025-26
New national survey data from this spring found increased absences due to immigration enforcement.
Ileana Najarro & Alex Harwin, June 2, 2026
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7 min read
Image of blurry data and a school building.
Laura Baker/Education Week + Canva
Federal Interactive Feds Issue a Slimmed-Down Data Release on U.S. Schools
The Condition of Education highlights school enrollment, finance, and graduation data.
Sarah D. Sparks & Maya Riser-Kositsky, May 29, 2026
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3 min read
Images from an influencer's reel.
Images courtesy of thekid.maddie
School & District Management Can Student Influencers Help This District Rebuild Enrollment?
A district hopes that student influencers can bring a more authentic voice to its marketing push.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 29, 2026
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5 min read
Ethan Quinn, 4, stands on a rock while playing with his classmates outside his daycare center in Concord, Calif., Nov. 1, 2023. Enrollment in state-supported preschool programs reached nearly 1.8 million students in 2024-25, a new record.
Ethan Quinn, 4, stands on a rock while playing with his classmates outside his daycare center in Concord, Calif., Nov. 1, 2023. Nationwide, enrollment in state-supported preschool programs reached nearly 1.8 million students in 2024-25, a new record; California was among the states with high growth.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Early Childhood State Pre-K Hits Record Enrollment, But Advocates Caution About Quality
State-sponsored preschool programs enrolled 1.8 million children in 2024-25, a new report finds. But some were higher quality than others.
Evie Blad, April 22, 2026
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2 min read
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 20: Students walk through the hallway to their next class at Cypresswood Elementary in Aldine ISD in Houston, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. Aldine ISD is one of the most improved school districts in the Houston area in 2025 TEA A-F ratings, increasing the district's overall score by 10 points in two years.
Elementary students walk to their next class in the Aldine Independent school district near Houston on Aug. 20, 2025. The district has decided to close 11 schools over the past three years due to a sharp enrollment drop.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
School & District Management Q&A How a School District Handled 3 Straight Years of Campus Closures
Amid 11 closures, a superintendent shares her advice for leaders in similar situations.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 6, 2026
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8 min read
Thu., February 05, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
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School & District Management Webinar Stop the Drop: Turn Communication Into an Enrollment Booster
Turn everyday communication with families into powerful PR that builds trust, boosts reputation, and drives enrollment.
Content provided by TalkingPoints
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First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
John Ehlke/West Bend Daily News via AP
States States Consider District Consolidations as Student Enrollment Drops
Rural educators say the decision to combine school districts is a matter of local control.
Evie Blad, December 5, 2025
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8 min read
Kindergarten and preschool students play on the school’s recently renovated playground during recess on Taft Early Learning Center in Uxbridge, Mass., on March 12, 2025.
Kindergarten and preschool students play on a recently renovated playground at Taft Early Learning Center in Uxbridge, Mass., on March 12, 2025. Research out this year examines the patterns behind enrollment decline in Massachusetts schools, which the researchers say likely apply nationwide.
Brett Phelps for Education Week
School & District Management Where School Enrollment Is Declining the Most: What New Research Shows
A new analysis finds enrollment declines are more pronounced in certain types of districts.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 18, 2025
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3 min read
River Yang, 3, looks out the window of a school bus as it prepares to depart the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, on May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
River Yang, 3, looks out the window of a school bus on May 6, 2024, as it prepares to depart the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center in Wasilla, Alaska. Head Start providers nationwide are contending with intermittent funding delays and policy changes that have upended the program for much of its 60th anniversary year.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Early Childhood Head Start Confronts More Funding Disruptions and Policy Whiplash
Program operators have struggled to draw down routine funding, and puzzled over how to comply with confusing policy directives.
Mark Lieberman, August 11, 2025
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11 min read
Soccer practice in Long Lake, N.Y., on Sept. 1, 2022.
Students participate in soccer practice in Long Lake, N.Y., on Sept. 1, 2022. The Long Lake Central School District merged some its sports teams with another district to have enough players to field teams.
Heather Ainsworth for Education Week
School & District Management How Rural Schools Share Services and Try to Stay Relevant in These 2 States
Even small fluctuations in student enrollment can create financial hardships for rural schools.
Ciara Meyer, August 8, 2025
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6 min read
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, right, listens during public comment at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, right, listens during public comment at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City.
Nick Oxford/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign
States What Happened to Oklahoma's Effort to Count Undocumented Students?
State leaders ended the possibility of a rule change that would have required proof of citizenship in school enrollment.
Ileana Najarro, May 27, 2025
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3 min read
Illustration of Covid-19 impacting 3 years of school
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images
School & District Management Infographic 9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 18, 2025
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3 min read