评论
打印
Across the United States, pandemic aid money is helping to fund a growing number of big-city schools with shrinking numbers of students.
在美国各地，疫情援助资金正在帮助资助越来越多的大城市学校，而这些学校的学生人数却在减少。
When the money runs out in a few years, officials will face a difficult choice: Keep the schools open despite the financial difficulty, or close them, upsetting communities looking for stability for their children.
当这些资金在几年后被用完时，官员们将会面临一个艰难的选择：要么不顾财政困难继续开办学校，要么关闭它们，但这会让那些为孩子寻求稳定的社区感到不安。
The summer program at Chalmers School of Excellence in Chicago, Illinois, offers one-on-one teaching that parents love.
伊利诺伊州芝加哥查尔默斯卓越学校的暑期课程提供了家长们喜欢的一对一教学。
But school principal Romian Crockett worries the school is becoming too small.
但该校校长罗米安·克罗基特担心学校变得太小了。
Chalmers lost almost one-third of its enrollment during the pandemic.
在疫情期间，查尔默斯失去了近三分之一的学生。
Today, only 215 students attend Chalmers.
如今，查尔默斯只有215名学生。
In Chicago, COVID-19 worsened enrollment declines that began before the virus.
在芝加哥，新冠疫情加剧了在病毒爆发前就已经开始的入学人数下降的问题。
Some poor Black neighborhoods in the city, like Chalmers’ North Lawndale, have seen families leave in large numbers over the past 10 years.
该市一些贫穷的黑人社区，如查尔默斯的北劳恩代尔，在过去10年里有大量家庭离开。
The number of small schools like Chalmers is growing in many American cities.
在美国的许多城市，像查尔默斯这样的小型学校的数量正在增加。
More than one in five New York City elementary schools had fewer than 300 students last school year.
上个学年，纽约市超过五分之一的小学学生人数不到300人。
In Los Angeles, California, over one in four have fewer than 300 students.
在加利福尼亚州的洛杉矶，超过四分之一的小学学生人数少于300人。
In Chicago, nearly one in three are that small.
在芝加哥，将近三分之一的小学学生人数少于300人。
In Boston, Massachusetts, it is almost one in two.
在马萨诸塞州的波士顿，这一比例将近二分之一。
These numbers come from research by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press.
这些数据来自Chalkbeat和美联社的研究。
Many of these schools were not designed to be small.
许多学校在设计时规模并不是很小。
Educators worry there will smaller budgets in the coming years, even as schools continue to recover from the pandemic.
教育工作者担心，即使学校继续从疫情中恢复，未来几年的预算也会减少。
“When you lose kids, you lose resources,” Crockett said.
克罗基特说：“当你失去孩子时，你就失去了资源”。
“That impacts your ability to serve kids with very high needs.”
“这会影响你为有很高需求的孩子提供服务的能力。”
A state law prevents Chicago from closing or combining its schools until 2025.
一项州法律禁止芝加哥在2025年之前关闭或合并学校。
Across the U.S., COVID-19 relief money is helping fund shrinking schools.
在美国各地，新冠疫情救助款正在帮助资助不断萎缩的学校。
It is unclear what will happen to those schools when the funding runs out.
目前还不清楚这些学校在资金用完后会发生什么。
“My worry is that we will shut down when we have all worked so hard,” said Yvonne Wooden, who serves on Chalmers’ school council.
查尔默斯学校理事会成员伊冯·伍德说：“我担心的是，虽然我们都非常努力工作，但我们还是会关门。”
“That would really hurt our neighborhood.”
“这真的会对我们的社区造成伤害。”
The pandemic quickened enrollment declines in many districts.
疫情加速了许多学区入学人数的下降。
Many families started homeschooling or sought enrollment at charter schools and private schools.
许多家庭开始在家上学，或寻求进入特许学校和私立学校就读。
Some students moved away or stopped attending school for unknown reasons.
一些学生因不明原因搬走或停学。
Many districts like Chicago give schools money for each individual student.
许多像芝加哥这样的学区按在校学生人数为学校提供资金。
That means small schools sometimes struggle to pay for costs like the principal, a counselor or building upkeep.
这意味着小型学校有时难以支付校长、辅导员或建筑维护等费用。
To deal with that, many school systems send extra money to small schools, taking money from larger schools.
为了解决这一问题，许多学校系统从较大的学校抽取资金向小型学校发放额外的资金。
In Chicago, the district spends an average of $19,000 yearly per student at small high schools.
在芝加哥，该学区平均每年在小型高中的每个学生身上支出1.9万美元。
Students at larger high schools get $10,000, Chalkbeat and the AP found.
Chalkbeat和美联社发现，规模较大的高中的学生可以获得1万美元。
Small schools are popular with families, teachers and community members because of their supportive environment.
小型学校因其支持性的环境而受到家庭、教师和社区成员的欢迎。
Some argue that districts should send more money into these schools.
一些人认为，学区应该向这些学校投入更多资金。
Many such schools are in Black and Latino neighborhoods that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
许多小型学校位于受疫情打击严重的黑人和拉丁裔社区。
In 2013, 50 schools closed in Chicago.
2013年，芝加哥有50所学校关闭。
Most were in Black neighborhoods.
其中大多数学校位于黑人社区。
The move damaged trust between locals and the district.
此举破坏了当地居民和该学区之间的信任。
It also hurt learning for students from poor families, researchers at the University of Chicago found.
芝加哥大学的研究人员发现，这还对来自贫困家庭的学生的学习造成了损害。
When schools close, it is “devastating” for families, said Suleika Soto.
苏蕾卡·索托说，学校关闭对家庭来说是“毁灭性的”。
She is with the Boston Education Justice Alliance, which supports underrepresented students.
她就职于波士顿教育正义联盟，该联盟支持未被充分代表的学生。
“And then if parents don’t like it, then they’ll remove their children from the public school system," she said.
她说：“如果家长不喜欢，他们就会让孩子离开公立学校系统”。
Still, some city school systems losing students are considering school closures.
尽管如此，一些正在流失学生的城市学校系统正在考虑关闭学校。
Earlier this year, the school board in Oakland, California, voted to close several small schools despite protests.
今年早些时候，加利福尼亚州奥克兰的学校董事会不顾抗议，投票决定关闭了几所小型学校。
In other cities, leaders have continued to invest in small schools.
在其他城市，领导人继续投资于小型学校。
Chicago received $2.8 billion in COVID-19 relief.
芝加哥获得了28亿美元的新冠疫情救援资金。
It will use about $140 million of the money to help small schools this school year, officials said.
官员们表示，本学年将使用这笔资金中的大约1.4亿美元来帮助小型学校。
In Los Angeles and New York City, officials say they are centering their efforts on bringing students back into school, not closing them.
在洛杉矶和纽约市，官员们表示，他们的工作重点是让学生重返校园，而不是关闭学校。
But federal relief money will run out in two years.
但联邦救济资金要在两年内用完。
Districts must use the money by September 2024.
学区必须在2024年9月之前使用这笔资金。
When the money is no longer there, it may be difficult for districts to keep small schools open.
当资金不再存在时，学区可能很难维持小型学校的开办。
“It’s a huge problem,” said Bruce Fuller, an education researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
加州大学伯克利分校的教育研究员布鲁斯·富勒说：“这是一个大问题”。
“It’s going to be increasingly difficult for superintendents to justify keeping these places open as the number of these schools continues to rise.”
“随着这些学校的数量持续增加，教育主管部门将越来越难以证明继续开放这些学校的合理性。”
I’m Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
