================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 73 ISSN 1069-7799 August 21, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (108 lines) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES RISE IN STUDENT NUMBERS _________________________________________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES RISE IN STUDENT NUMBERS America's schools will continue to bulge at the seams this fall as another record number of students fill up conventional and portable classrooms, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education. At a press conference today, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said that 52.2 million students are expected to attend school this fall, with the bulk of the increase at the high school level. Total public and private school enrollment this fall will surpass last fall's all time high of more than 51 million students. Riley added that the increases will continue unabated for the next decade and call for serious solutions to the school overcrowding problems that many school districts are experiencing. Increases are expected to peak at 54.3 million in 2007. "Portable classrooms and short term solutions just don't cut it," Riley said. "We need to build some 6,000 additional schools in the next 10 years. Children shouldn't spend their entire educational experience going to schools in portable classrooms. Right now school overcrowding is a local concern, but it has the potential to become a national crisis." The second annual "Back-to-School Special Report on the Baby Boom Echo: Here Come the Teenagers", prepared by the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics, cites the largest increase will be among teenagers. From the fall of 1997 through 2007, the nation's schools can expect a 13 percent increase in grades 9 through 12, a five percent increase in grades six through eight, and a one percent decrease in grades one through five. Overall, public elementary and secondary enrollment is projected to increase by four percent over the next ten years, with western states having the largest increases--California is expecting the largest percent increase of almost 16 percent. Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Georgia join California as states with increases of more than ten percent. Twenty states and the District of Columbia can expect a decrease. Riley also stressed that the demand for teachers would rise with increased student enrollment. He said that about two million more teachers will be needed for the next decade. While the enrollment increases will not bring about teacher shortages in all schools, many schools, particularly those in high poverty urban and rural areas, already have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified teachers. And many schools may need more teachers in specific subjects such as math and science. "We need to do all we can to ensure that all students have qualified teachers who can teach to high standards," Riley said. The report said that the number of high school graduates will increase by 18 percent over the next ten years, with about half of the states having at least a 15 percent increase; western states will have a 25 percent increase in high school graduates. Full time college enrollment is expected to increase by 21 percent in the next ten years. In answer to a reporter's question on specific problems due to overcrowding, Florida principal Rayfield Henderson said students are attending school in double sessions, a cafeteria built for 700 is trying to feed 1,000, bathrooms facilities are inadequate, and there is overrun on the library facilities. The report also states that students are "crammed into libraries, gymnasiums, laboratories, lunch rooms, and even closets." ALA believes the projected student increases will have an impact on school libraries and school media specialists as well as on local academic and public library facilities and librarians. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Mary Costabile All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================