U.S. Census Offers Back To School Tidbits
by Blanche Evans

With summer vacations coming to an end, thoughts are turning to back-to-school time, when many children eagerly anticipate catching up with old friends, making new ones and settling into a new daily routine. Parents and children alike are scanning the newspapers and websites looking for upcoming sales to shop for a multitude of school supplies and the latest clothing fads and essentials. Just for fun, the U.S. Census has some facts that may be of interest to parents, teachers, and students.

$7.1 billion: The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2006. Only in November and December -- the holiday shopping season -- were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores in August 2006 totaled $2.1 billion, an amount approached in 2006 only by sales in January and December.

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2005, there were 24,659 family clothing stores, 6,305 children and infants clothing stores, 26,416 shoe stores, 9,501 office supplies and stationery stores, 23,195 sporting goods stores, 11,077 bookstores and 9,589 department stores.

75.8 million: The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2005 -- from nursery school to college. That amounts to about one-fourth of the U.S. population aged three and older.

54%: Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2005.

70%: Percentage of children enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2005.

55.8 million: The projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation's elementary and high schools (grades K-12) this fall. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

11%: Projected percentage of elementary and high school students enrolled in private schools this fall. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)
41% Percentage of elementary and high school students who were minorities, as of October 2005.

22%: Percentage of elementary and high school students with at least one foreign-born parent in October 2005.

42%: Percentage of children 12 to 17 who participated in sports as of 2003, which was the most popular extracurricular activity. About one-third of children this age participated in club activities and 29 percent in lessons. Lessons include those taken after school or on the weekend in subjects like music, dance, language, computers or religion.

75%: Percentage of children 12 to 17 who were enrolled in school and academically "on-track" (i.e., enrolled in school at or above the grade level for peers their age) as of 2003.

24%: Percentage of children 12 to 17 who were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in any subject, such as honors and advanced placement classes, as of 2003.

41%: Percentage of children 12 to 17 who had ever attended or been enrolled in first grade or higher and had changed schools at some point as of 2003.

10.5 million: Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home, about one in five in this age group. Most of them (7.5 million) speak Spanish at home. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

18 million: The projected number of students enrolled in the nation's colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 12.8 million 20 years ago. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

37%: Percentage of all college students 25 and older in October 2005; 56 percent of these older students attended school part time.

69%: Percentage of undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges in October 2005. Of those enrolled in such schools, 81 percent attended full time.

49%: Percentage of 18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college in 2005.

56%: Percentage of undergraduates who were women in October 2005. Among graduate students, the corresponding percentage was even higher: 59 percent.

95,726: Number of public elementary and secondary schools in 2003-04. The corresponding number of private elementary and secondary schools was 28,384.

4,276: Number of institutions of higher learning that granted college degrees in 2005. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

1.1 million: Number of students who were home-schooled in 2003. That was 2 percent of all students 5 to 17.

3,294: The number of public charter schools nationwide in 2004-05. These schools, granted a charter exempting them from selected state and local rules and regulations, enrolled 887,000 students. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

6.8 million: Number of teachers in the United States in 2006. Some 2.7 million teach at the elementary and middle school level. The remainder include those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary and preschool and kindergarten levels. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$57,300: Average annual salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers in Connecticut as of the 2003-2004 school year -- the highest of any state. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest pay -- $33,200. The national average was $46,800. High school principals earned $86,938 annually in 2004-05.

14.2 million: Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation's elementary and secondary schools as of the 2005-2006 school year. That works out to one computer for every four students.

$13,425: Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation's four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year (2005-06). That is more than double the corresponding figure in 1990. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$36,510: Average tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2005-06). That also is more than double the corresponding 1990 figure. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$6,291: Average amount of aid received by full-time college students in 2001-02. More than half of college students receive some form of financial aid from outside their families to help pay for their education.

3.3 million: Projected number of high school diplomas that will be awarded in the 2007-08 school year. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

3 million: Number of college degrees expected to be conferred in the 2007-08 school year. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$8,701: The per-pupil expenditure on public elementary and secondary education nationally in 2005. New York ($14,119) spent the most among states or state equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($13,800), the District of Columbia ($12,979), Vermont ($11,835) and Connecticut ($11,572). Utah ($5,257) spent the least per student, followed by Arizona ($6,261), Idaho ($6,283), Mississippi ($6,575) and Oklahoma ($6,613).

Realty Times: August 15, 2007