Black students leave public schools, head to pods

After seemingly decades of failed public education, some black families are using pods and microschools to ensure that their children receive a quality education. The emergence of education alternatives from the pandemic may be here to stay, particularly among a community which has been neglected by public education for several generations.

The 74 Million reported about this recent trend and how black families are choosing to leave public schools for their children’s sake.

Pods and microschools are small groups of independent classes, usually taught by a parent of one of the children or a volunteer, and it is similar to homeschooling. During the pandemic, these education alternatives took hold as parents clamored for options other than virtual or remote classes for their children. It allowed children to interact with other children close to their age and learn social skills.

One research finding is that a majority of ethnic minority parents have “more trust” in adults supervising pods compared to pre-pandemic public schools, to the tune of 63%. The overall percentage for all parents is 50%.

Another finding is that black parents were “more than twice as likely as whites to report that their children were happier in pods – 52% to 25%.”

This is not an isolated trend. At least one major school district that serves a large black community has seen a significant enrollment decline since the pandemic, which is Chicago Public Schools. Chicago saw student enrollment drop by 33,000 students between fall 2020 and 2022.

The data has spoken: Black families are seeking educational success outside of public schools and are trying to set up their children for success. Teachers’ unions and education bureaucrats are failing to address parents’ concerns and public school enrollment may continue to dip for years to come.

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