Why did they leave and where have they gone? Stanford economist Thomas Dee says there are several factors including migration from state to state, fewer children being born, and increases in private school and homeschool enrollment. Most of these rose after the COVID 19 pandemic, but in West Virginia, the shift began occurring before that and continued after it.
Between 2012-2020, West Virginia saw a decline of 6.9% of the public school enrollment. That was leading up to the pandemic. Then from 2020-2024, during after forced closures due to public health concerns, another 6.3% of the population left public schools in the Mountain State.
The National Center for Education Statistics predicts that between now and 2031, West Virginia will lose another 13% of the public school student enrollment.
Read more at The Real WV.
