11 Changing Communities
Like many states, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s population changed significantly over the past two decades. The rapid acceleration of global technologies, work mobility, refugee resettlement, and zoning policy changes are just a few of the reasons we look around us and see the changes in our communities reflected in our schools. But this isn’t new. At every juncture in the nation’s history, there have been people who sought better lives for themselves and for their families who immigrated to a new country. And, just as these peoples felt hope, others felt fear of change and the potential unknowns within that change. They challenged newcomers’ rights to live within and near their established communities, created short- and long-term policies that restricted access to equitable opportunities, and created barriers to education and healthcare as rights and public goods. These competing perspectives are important to keep in mind as our professional responsibility is to create opportunities for all children to learn and families to thrive.
Nationwide Population Changes
Let’s first consider how the U.S. population as a whole has evolved and then how the school-age population changed. Many of today’s teachers with approximately 20 years of teaching experience began teaching shortly after receiving an undergraduate degree in their early twenties. We can imagine Mia’s mentor being one of these teachers. They would likely have been in kindergarten, first, or second grades in 1985. In 1985, 39.4 million students enrolled in U.S. public schools[1]. By the time these current teachers were in high school or approaching college in 1995, the public school enrollment rose to 44.8 million. Many of them saw the rapid expansion of existing school buildings, new building construction, and, at more financially precarious moments, the additions of trailers to accommodate additional students. Despite the creativity of educators who added decor and referred to these structures as cottages and villages, everyone recognized them as trailers. By the time they began their teaching careers in 2000, the national public school enrollment rose to 47.2 million students. By this time, these novice teachers (and the young families they served) understood that the “cottages” of their childhood were temporary structures that became quite permanent fixtures on school campuses nationwide. Fall 2019 saw the highest public school enrollment in history: 50.8 million students enrolled in U.S. public schools. The Washington Post published a compelling analysis of racial diversity in U.S. public schools in 2019 and we highly recommend exploring it.
How has Virginia’s population evolved?
A Tale of Two Middle Schools: 2000-2022
Williamsburg Middle School is located in the northern part of Arlington County, a school division situated at the boundary of Washington, DC. Just under 26 square miles, Arlington is one of the most densely populated areas of the country whose residents comprise some of the highest and lowest groups along the socioeconomic continuum in the U.S. In 2000, Williamsburg Middle School served a racially, ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse community. More than 70 languages were spoken in the building, though the school served a total of fewer than 900 students. Approximately one third of the students qualified for the free or reduced lunch program and the available housing within a two mile radius of the school represented the wide socioeconomic gap between those at the lowest and the highest ends of financial means. In 2022, Williamsburg Middle School’s total enrollment was around the same as it was in 2000 at 827 students, grades 6-8. However, the percentages of those students with limited financial means and of multilingual students were significantly lower than two decades prior. In 2022, 71.3% of students identified as white, 12.7% as multiracial, 8.5% as Hispanic, 5.2% as Asian, and 2.1% as Black. Just 2.3% of students were identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged and 3% received English language learning supports[2].
Quioccasin Middle School is located in Henrico County, a geographically large region that borders both Richmond City and more rural counties. Situated in what is referred to as the West End, Quiocassin was once in the furthest western developed areas of the county, though it might be more accurately described as centrally located currently. In 2000, Quiocassin (then known as Byrd) Middle School served a predominantly white, middle class population with few newcomers who received English language learning supports. In 2022, Quioccasin enrolled just over 1,000 students, 40% of whom identified as white, 22.8% as Hispanic, 22.3% as Black, 8.8% as Asian, and 5.7% as multiracial. 45% of the students were economically disadvantaged and 27.4% received English language supports[3].
Pause and Ponder
What surprised you about these comparisons? What supported your prior understandings of schools and demographic changes? What questions come to mind? What do you want to learn more about to better understand these different ways that two schools, located within a two-hour drive of one another, experienced population change during the same two decades?
