School Enrollment
MSCS leaders toured schools rejoining the district and those absorbing students displaced by recent closures on the first day of classes. Here’s what they shared.
Renaissance charter schools are supposed to serve students in the surrounding neighborhood. But as student enrollment shrinks citywide, many fill their seats with students from elsewhere.
The district is relaunching its summer door-knocking campaign and changing in-school strategies to boost attendance after high absenteeism became an impetus for the MSCS state takeover.
Recent school takeovers in Texas, often heralded by Tennessee Republicans, resulted in multiple school shutdowns. And a former MSCS superintendent appointed to MSCS’ oversight board made closures a lynchpin of his tenure.
Schools will see steady budgets for the start of the 2026-27 school year, extending a pandemic-era policy that props up schools with falling enrollment.
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The plan is part of an ongoing effort to get more students to attend Detroit schools as it competes with charters and suburban districts. In total, the district aims to spend $1.4 million to market to prospective students and families.
Pueblo 60 has lost thousands of students in recent years. It plans to repurpose several school buildings for new uses, including preschool.
The state projects the district’s enrollment will decline by roughly 10% over the next decade.
The MSCS school board voted last week to shutter five schools by the end of this year. That leaves over 1,200 students to find a new place to go next fall, with the district extending its priority transfer deadline to accommodate last-minute changes.
A report from the advocacy group Kids First Chicago found that the district’s “market share” has slipped from 75% to 71% since 2018.
MSCS officials say closing Georgian Hills Elementary would consolidate neighborhood enrollment into fewer buildings, reducing district cost.
MSCS leaders want to create the third combined middle-high school in the district if Chickasaw Middle closes in June. Parents worry that will spark behavioral issues.
Many have claimed that there’s been a generational pivot away from college, but the data doesn’t back that up.
Enrollment fell by about 22,000 students, or 2.4%, this year. The city will not claw back more than $250 million from schools with fewer students than projected.
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Superintendent Roderick Richmond is proposing sending displaced students into nearby schools to fill open seats.
MSCS leaders say the affected schools have costly maintenance needs and low utilization. A fifth school is slated to be transferred to a neighboring suburban district.
It’s unclear which schools will be included in the plan that could come as early as Tuesday. There are several MSCS buildings quickly approaching the end of their useful life.
Experts point to factors like surges in private and homeschool options and general population decreases. The losses come with big implications for Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ budget and impending school closures.