Record-Breaking Education Exodus in Indiana

“…There is a considerable change taking place in the Indiana education system. Thousands of students are leaving its public schools for private or homeschool options in the wake of factors from mask mandates and learning loss to critical race theory and social-emotional learning. Dozens of private parenting groups have corroborated and communicated the concerns of Hoosier parents to local school boards—many of whom have begun enacting legally questionable measures to stem these protestations at school board meetings.

The result has been a fleeing from public schools into many private options in Indiana schools in record-setting waves. Of the 319 private schools I obtained enrollment data from for the 21-22 academic year (allowing that these numbers are still moving as of August 6, 2021), 288 have seen growth over the last three years. Of those 288 schools, 154 have seen an enrollment leap from 2020/21 to 2021/22 of at least thirty students. Of the schools I observed, 49 saw enrollment numbers at least 150% the previous year’s roster.

To compare this to averages from 2000 to 2015, it was common for many private or Christian schools under 500 students to fluctuate ~10 students per year. In the last year, a large portion of these schools under 500 students have seen gains from 25 to 50 students.

Several private and Christian schools in suburban areas of Indiana have seen astronomical climbs in student enrollment. In one case, Suburban Christian School in Greenwood, IN recorded 320 students in 2019/20, and has so far registered 551 students for 2021/22. Colonial Christian School near Keystone in Indianapolis recorded 177 students in September of 2020, but has registered 205 as of July 2021. In conversations with admissions staff, I discovered that some of these schools have begun placing new student candidates on “wait lists”, as their maximum capacities have been exceeded…”