CAPE Meeting, March 2024

Twice a year, the Council for American Private Education hosts an in-person board meeting in Washington, D.C. The meetings are an opportunity for the leaders of private school associations to gather together to discuss the latest trends and issues impacting their private schools constituents from across the country.

The ISLA is a member of CAPE. Below, I share highlights from two presentations at CAPE. The first one captures some important data points for Islamic school leaders and board members who may find this useful in making decisions for the upcoming academic year. The second presentation captures some high level issues that Islamic school thought leaders, administrators and board members may find beneficial to consider.

Private School Data from Repeating Surveys

Chris Chapman, Associate Commissioner, Sample Surveys Division, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and William Ward, Senior Research Scientist, NCES

Different types of surveys:

• Private School Universe Survey (PSS) – (this data can be compared with Public schools using the Common Core of Data)
• Biennial collection of data on the characteristics of all K-12 private schools across the U.S. 
• National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS)
  • Conducted every three years with a sample of public and private schools
  • Respondents are school staff including principals and a sample of teachers within the school
• Follow Up Surveys to measure attrition and where teachers are going

Findings: Characteristics of Private Schools in 2021-22

The big picture:

• 29,700 private schools (21-22 school year)
• Enrolled 4.7 million K-12 students
• Employed 483,000 FT equivalent teachers
• 66% of private schools reported having religious orientation
• Roughly 20,000 schools reported membership in at least one private school association
• Number of Private schools Decreased 3% from 2019-20 to 2021-22
• Elementary/Middle- The number of schools decreased by 6% (5% of which were from Catholic schools)

Employment:

• Number of FT teachers in 19-20 to 21-22
• Elementary : Decreased by 3%
• Combined/other*: Increased by 5%
• Other religious schools: increased by 4%

Principal and Teacher Salaries:

• Principals’ Salary: private $78,600 vs $105,900
• Teachers’ Salary: private- $46,400 (base, FT) vs public-$61,600 (base, FT)
  • About 20% for both private + public school teachers have another job during the school year

Principals’ Typical Work Week: 

• Private- 54.5 hours/week on the job vs Public- 58.3 hours/week on the job
• What were their hours spent on?
  • Internal administrative tasks: Private- 32% vs Public- 30%
  • Curriculum/teaching: Private- 28% vs Public- 29 %
  • Comparable hours spent by private and public school principals on Student interactions andParent interactions
  • Biggest difference in what private vs public school having major influence over decisions about curriculum (~65% vs ~30%)

Today’s Challenges in Education: A Conversation with Chester Finn, Jr.

Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute; Thomas B. Fordham Institute is America’s leading education reform think tank. 

• Chronic absenteeism – what percentage of students are missing 10% or more of their school year? Who is letting them skip school? Are parents letting them see it as a voluntary thing?
• Discipline/Behavior 
  • Whose side are the parents on now? 
• No longer college-prep only; if not college, what are they being trained for? 
  • How flexible are your schools? 
  • Consider the data that shows that graduates 10 years out from their degree completion are in a job that didn’t require their degree
• Reading instruction
  • Content knowledge that accompanies the reading instruction
  • Does this content and instruction help prepare them for further (5th grade and above) education?
• Civics and History 
  • Kids know very little about civics and history 
  • Knowledge & attitude formation
• Gifted & Talented Education/Education of Advanced Learners
  • How are private schools accommodating students who have high speed/high level learning? Are they accelerating, skipping grades, doing different classes? 
• Balancing act between SEL + academics
  • Many schools saying SEL needs to be as much as academics
• Innovation in “traditional” schools
  • As competition arises – charters, other private schools are popping up
  • Are private schools able to compete; are they innovating too?
• Other: 
  • Grade inflation
  • Affirmative action
  • Banning books
• Why aren’t other private schools participating in NAEP? 
  • Never have enough participation in NAEP from the private schools– why not? 
  • Catholic schools and charter schools have been successful with this