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Pa. kindergarten enrollment crashed last year—how are districts getting help if it rebounds? | Family First with FOX43

Kindergarten enrollment numbers dropped by nearly 13,000 kids for the 2020-21 school year. Pennsylvania's Department of Education says there's money to help.

YORK, Pa. — Kindergarten classrooms across Pennsylvania are back open, and in many cases, with a few more kids than last year.

At Yorkshire Elementary School in the York Suburban School District, kindergarten teachers Alexis Keller and Christine Waltemyer are putting the finishing touches on their classrooms.

They usually know what to expect when kids return to the classroom; Keller has taught kindergarten the last four years, while Waltemyer has been at it for 26 years. They both call it the "normal, every year, back-to-school jitters."

However, even they expect this year to be a little different.

"We have two more teachers," Keller said. "We're expecting about 40 more kids than last year."

What Yorkshire Elementary is seeing with an enrollment rise is a trend expected at most kindergartens across the Commonwealth. Last year, 111,469 students attended kindergarten in Pennsylvania, a 12,869-person drop from the 2019-20 school year.

Parents held their children back from starting kindergarten for many reasons, but chief among them, was the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Some parents simply chose to hold kids back of starting the K-through-12 process rather than have them attend school during an uncertain time safety-wise, or do virtual learning. 

In terms of local school districts in the South Central Pennsylvania region, Harrisburg was hit hardest by the enrollment drop, losing 194 kids from the previous school year. York had 176 fewer students. Central Dauphin (157), Lebanon (140), Chambersburg (134), West Shore (126), and Lancaster (117) all saw an enrollment decrease of more than 100 kids. 

Enrollment figures are projected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) as of students attending school on Oct. 1 of each school year. FOX43 asked the PDE what they were doing to help school districts with the potential influx of students for the 2021-22 school year, having known that numbers were so low the previous year. 

Dr. Sherri Smith, deputy secretary of the department and director of the Bureau of School Support, said the PDE couldn't do anything for districts until they know current enrollment numbers, which are expected to be released for the 2021-22 school year in October.

"If schools are managing an influx of kindergarteners, they can use ESSER dollars for additional students coming into kindergarten this year," she said.

ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief. It is money provided to Pennsylvania through the American Rescue Plan and allocated out to school districts. 

A full list of allocated money can be found here

Harrisburg ($50.3M), Lancaster ($42.4M), and York ($34.9M) are all among school districts ranking in the top 10 statewide for most relief funds. 

"Not all classes are created equal, and I imagine all school districts had an idea if there were going to be more students, and they were thoughtful about it and prepared for the start of the year," Dr. Smith said. 

The rest is left to the teachers themselves to figure out. 

Kindergarten is not required in Pennsylvania, though it is highly recommended.

"This is where it all starts," Keller said. "This is where you truly learn how to do school."

In some cases this year, teachers will have to deal with a mix of kids as young as four-years-old and as old as six-years-old, especially if they spent a year away from a learning environment.

"Part of being a kindergarten teacher is you have different children at maturation levels and experience levels," Waltemyer said. "It is what we do. We structure our day to keep it active, and we work through it."

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