Chicago Public Schools' enrollment declines by 6K students, years long decline slows

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The number of students enrolled in Chicago Public Schools has declined for the eighth year in a row, but the decline is slowing.

CPS announced a 20th day enrollment Friday, reporting enrollment within CPS has dropped by more than 6,000 student since last year.

That's also a 13% drop in enrollment from 10 years ago, where more than 400,000 students were enrolled in CPS schools.

A total of 355,165 student were reported for the 2019-2020 school years in 642 schools. That's down from last year's total of 361,314.

Officials said the drop is actually "significantly reduced compared to the previous three years," and the losses were actually less than their projections.

"While there are signs of encouragement, we are fully committed to supporting school communities that are struggling with enrollment by providing additional resources through equity grants and a budgeting approach that promotes stability," said CPS CEO Dr. Janice Jackson.

CPS credited kindergarten enrollment and graduation rates as factors in slowing the enrollment drop.

Majority of CPS students attend district-run schools, but more than 60,000 attend charter, alternative and options schools.

CPS reported Regular K-12 schools, elementary enrollment this school year is 202,239 compared to 207,032 in the 2018-19 school year. High school enrollment was down less than 100, from 73,419 to 73,506 students.