Enrollment in public schools across Michigan has fallen. In the fall of 2020, more than 53,000 students didn’t show up for class — a decline of nearly 4% from the fall of 2019. That’s twice as many students as the state lost during the final year of the Great Recession, the last time a wave of economic instability uprooted tens of thousands of families.
The figures underscore the disruptive effect of the pandemic on thousands of students’ educations. Some families may have moved during the pandemic because of job loss or housing instability, while others are home-schooling their children. But many students are not accounted for, and educators worry that they aren’t attending school at all.
Join a virtual conversation about Michigan’s missing students at 4 p.m. Thursday. During this free event, a panel of experts will talk about what decision-makers and school leaders can do to find and help students, and ensure they thrive as schools return to in-person learning.
Tabitha Bentley, director of policy and research at the Education Trust-Midwest, will lead a conversation with:
This article was originally posted on What to do about Michigan’s missing students? Join the conversation Thursday.
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