The N.C. Department of Public Instruction released student membership figures for the first month of school. It is interesting to note year-to-year changes in average daily membership (ADM), even if the figure will change by the end of the year. The ADM figures for the last three school years are as follows:
2017-18: 1,423,757
2016-17: 1,429,826
2015-16: 1,433,290
The two-year change is only around 9,500 students and is less than a percentage point, so it is clearly not a cataclysmic change. Nevertheless, private, home, and charter school enrollments continue to grow as district membership shrinks, suggesting that parental choice is contributing to the trend.
