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Enrollment In D.C.'s Charter Schools Growing Rapidly

By: Kavitha Cardoza // February 7, 2013
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Charter schools in the District now educate 43 percent of the student population and their enrollment growth is dwarfing that of the city's traditional public schools, according to the latest figures.

Student enrollment throughout the city's public schools increased 5 percent for this academic year. A total of 80,230 students are enrolled in D.C.'s traditional and charter schools. It's the fourth straight year enrollment has increased overall.

But a breakdown of the audited data shows a completely different rate of growth between D.C.'s traditional public schools and it's public charter school system. DCPS enrollment increased by just 1 percent, while the public charter school system's number of students increased by 10 percent.

Unlike in the past when there was a disparity between the final numbers and the unofficial enrollment count released in October, this year's numbers are similar to the count from last year. That's due to more rigorous training for the hundreds of staff involved in the count, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the State Superintendent.

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