A drop in the number of students enrolled in Boston Public Schools (BPS) this year is linked to a large decrease in the number of migrant and “newcomer” students, according to Supt. Mary Skipper, who briefed the Boston School Committee on the matter late last month. The current enrollment of BPS as of this week, according to the numbers provided to the newspaper on Wednesday, sits at 46,824 students, including in-district charter schools. That is a decrease of approximately 1,700 students and may be an all-time low for the district.
“This is mainly driven by a decrease in international immigration to the district,” BPS spokesperson wrote in a statement provided to The Reporter on Nov. 12. “We are continuously reviewing the data to understand the variables impacting the change while maintaining the quality of services to ensure we continue to meet the needs of all our students.”
The district saw a slight increase of 260 students last year and held static the previous year with no real increase or decrease – both circumstances attributed to large numbers of newcomers and migrants entering the district…