According to the Annual Bi-County Nassau/Suffolk Public School Enrollment Report compiled by the Office of School Planning and Research of Western Suffolk BOCES, public school enrollment on Long Island has declined by 4.3% since 2010, with decreases of 2.1% in Nassau County and 6.1% in Suffolk County. Projections suggest an additional 2.2% decline in the region over the next three years.
Since 2010, the elementary (K – 5) and middle grade (6 – 8) enrollments on Long Island declined 5.7 and 5.0%, respectively; the high school grades (9 – 12) recorded a smaller loss of 3.4%. Through 2019, an additional loss of 3.2% is expected in the elementary grades, with smaller losses of 0.5% and 2.1% projected in the middle and high school grade configurations, respectively. The enrollment declines are mostly accounted for by larger exiting twelfth grade classes being replaced by smaller entering kindergarten classes. This negative displacement pattern is expected to continue in the near future.
Enrollment in public schools is affected by demographic factors, including the number of children being born in the area, economic and housing trends, non-public/charter school enrollments and immigration/migration patterns.
View the full study, Annual Bi-County Nassau/Suffolk Public School Enrollment Report.
For more information, contact:
Western Suffolk BOCES, Division of Instructional Support Services
Office of School Planning & Research, Barbara Graziano, Manager
Phone: (631) 595-6802