Local group explores the root causes of CPS enrollment drop

CPS
Dawes Elementary School remains mostly empty on the first day back for prekindergarten students on January 11, 2021. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ
CPS
Dawes Elementary School remains mostly empty on the first day back for prekindergarten students on January 11, 2021. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Local group explores the root causes of CPS enrollment drop

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Declining birth rates and the outmigration of Black families away from Chicago are leading to a decline in the number of school-age children across the city, according to a study by a local education advocacy group. This trend can be found in cities across the country and has real implications for the revenue CPS receives as well as the quality of resources available to students.

Reset checks in with an analyst who conducted the study.

GUEST: Hal Woods, chief of policy at Kids First Chicago