Thousands of students have dropped out of Missouri public schools during coronavirus pandemic

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    St. Louis, MO (St. Louis Post Dispatch) — Julia Greco of Ellisville pulled her daughter and son from the Rockwood School District to homeschool after feeling frustrated with virtual learning last spring.

“I felt it was really well organized, but it was a lot harder to manage a 6- and 9-year-old than I thought it would be,” Greco said. “I felt if I took over and taught them for a year, we could have a more joyful time during a really scary thing happening in the world.”

Public school enrollment across Missouri is down by nearly 27,500 students this fall compared to the 2019-2020 school year. The majority of the decrease came from preschool and kindergarten classes, and the drop was bigger in areas such as St. Louis city and county, where most districts started the year fully virtual.

“We’re exploring whether those students shifted to homeschooling, if they’re now attending a private school that may be offering onsite learning opportunities unlike their public school, or have they simply just not enrolled yet,” said Mallory McGowin, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The historic 3.2% statewide drop, to 872,470 students in public preschool through 12th grade, follows annual rate decreases of less than 1% since reaching 900,781 students in 2007. Enrollment in public preschool fell by 31%, and kindergarten by nearly 10% across Missouri.

Five districts in the St. Louis region experienced enrollment declines of more than 10% — Affton, Ferguson-Florissant, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Normandy and Riverview Gardens.

Enrollment determines government funding for schools, but state law allows public districts to use the higher attendance count from the previous two years in its funding formula. That means steep budget cuts and layoffs could hit next year if districts don’t lure students back in 2021, McGowin said.

Rockwood School District, the St. Louis region’s largest, fell by 1,118 students this year to a total of 20,609. The district started the year virtually and has been gradually returning students to buildings in the last month, after months of protests from a group of parents pushing the district to resume in-person learning.

Greco helped build a support group of about 75 families across Rockwood who chose homeschooling this year for stability or health reasons. Originally, her plan was for homeschooling to be a temporary fix during the coronavirus pandemic. But the family has grown accustomed to the flexibility with schedules and their adventures in cooking, gardening and hiking.

Every district in St. Louis city and county experienced a decline in enrollment this year with one exception — Lindbergh School District, which added 13 students when preschoolers are included. The district had a decrease of 62 students from January in kindergarten through 12th grade, with more than half coming from kindergarten.

Maplewood-Richmond Heights experienced the highest rate of student drop-off in the region, with enrollment down 12% from last year. The loss of 169 students comes almost entirely from the indefinite closing of the district’s preschool program, which previously enrolled 150 students.

At least 44 students in the district switched to homeschooling, according to Vince Estrada, director of student services, who expects a majority to return when the district reopens its school buildings.

“A lot of those families wanted to stay in touch and continue to be plugged in,” Estrada said.

In Kirkwood, where residents in April voted down a bond issue to build a new elementary school, enrollment fell by 2.3%, a reversal of pre-pandemic projections of 2.3% growth. Enrollment fell 2% even in Wentzville, the state’s fastest-growing district in previous years. The district dropped by 326 students from last year, to a total of 17,447.

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