Changes in the Elementary Age Population, School Closures, and Access to Public Elementary School Options in St. Louis City: Three Key Takeaways
Photo by RODNAE Productions
By: AMY SHELTON & MEg Gorton
This past week, PRiME published a policy brief looking at the decline in the elementary age population (five-to-nine year olds) in St. Louis City, school closures, and access to public elementary school options by neighborhood. After mapping the percent change in the five-to-nine population and the relative concentration of district and charter schools across St. Louis City, we find:
The elementary age population in St. Louis City declined 12% over 10 years. Between the 2010-14 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2015-19 ACS, the city lost 2,000 elementary age children. Sixty-two percent of city neighborhoods experienced a decline, losing on average 32% of their five-to-nine year olds. Almost two-thirds of the overall decline was from a decrease in the number of Black elementary age children in north city.
Thirty-two out of 79 city neighborhoods have no schools serving elementary age children. Population decline over the past two decades has been accompanied by dozens of district and charter school closures. At the end of the 2020–21 school year, Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) closed eight schools, including four elementary schools in north city. Today, 23 city neighborhoods have only district schools for elementary age children, 11 have only charter schools, and 13 have both.
The ratio of schools to elementary age children is higher in south city neighborhoods than in north city neighborhoods. Neighborhoods in north city have an average of 1.1 schools for every 260 elementary age children in the neighborhood and all adjacent neighborhoods, while south city neighborhoods have an average of 1.5 schools for every 260 children. In 2021-22, half of public elementary school students in the city attended charter schools. Yet, the ratio of charter schools to children is also higher in south city than in north city (0.7 for every 260 children in south city compared with 0.4 in north city).
Conclusion
We recognize that students can attend schools outside of their own neighborhoods. However, distance is an important factor families consider when choosing a school, and families in south city have more public elementary school options nearby than do families in north city, even after accounting for where elementary aged children live. Additionally, the high percentage of public elementary aged students attending charter schools masks unequal access to these schools across the city. It is important for decision makers to consider changes in the elementary age population and relative access to public school options across the city when planning the future of the St. Louis City public elementary school landscape.
Read our policy brief to learn more about the relationship between population decline, school closures, and access to public elementary school options in St. Louis City.
