The boys and education

Some big news below, but first…

What’s going on with boys?

Several issues ago, I shared the stat that 53% of high school girls are persistently sad or hopeless. This was surprising given girls appear to be crushing school.

For girls, this was explained by the confidence gap that girls have.

Boys are having issues too but of a very different kind. They are struggling with school itself.

Why? This is a multi-variable issue and there are many theories (some more plausible than others).

In order of evidence-base, the reasons are:

• Boys' brains run 1-2 years behind girls on exec function. Schools require the herd has to move together so they don't really ever catch up.

• Effort at school is increasingly viewed negatively. Boys worry about peer perception and being dubbed a "try hard". Girls have different challenges but not this one.

• Reading gap shows up by 3rd grade and the gap just compounds over time. The herd continuing to move means they never catch up.

• 23% of US teachers are men. 17% of education degrees go to men. The pipeline of male teachers is drying up.

• Too much fidgeting and too much energy? Boys are not wired for compliance and conformity so they get expelled 3x more, get medicated more, and are held back more.

• Boys increasingly think college isn't worth the grind. On this one, it's increasingly hard to argue they're wrong.

This is a looming problem we will need to figure out.

On reading specifically, I do think forcing kids to read stuff adults like which they have no interest in would be one solution.

I wrote about why kids hate reading and how we can fix it here.

Forge Prep is now an accredited school

Earlier this week, Forge Prep was accredited by the Middle States Association.

MSA is one of the oldest and most rigorous K-12 accrediting bodies in the country, certifying 3,000+ schools globally, including many of the most respected independent schools in our region.

A peer team of educators from MSA member schools evaluated our curriculum, governance, financial plan, and safety protocols. Their findings then went to the MSA Commission, which voted to accredit us.

It's the strongest independent validation we could earn, and it confirms in writing what we've been building toward from day one.

A huge thank you to Christian Talbot (CEO), Jake Galloway and the entire team at MSA-CESS for the thoughtful and rigorous process. And thanks to our founding families and guides who spent time with their accreditation team.

NJ parents - something to look forward to :)

When they go to college, it’s not a “goodbye”.

It’s just a “see you later” 🤣 

Public school enrollment is dropping everywhere

Public school k-12 enrollment is projected to consistently decline through 2031 dropping 7.6% vs its 2019 peak

(note: y-axis chart crime below)

More interesting is the geographic decline.

California and NY are going to see declines > 10%.

Government schools which are funded on enrollment will likely have to cut services.

This is a doom loop that's tough to get out of as I’ve discussed here using Montclair as a case study.

Birth rate declines are a big part of this as is population migration out of some states. California, NY, Illinois and NJ are at the top of the leaderboard for migration OUT of their state.

Florida and TX are the winners for migration in.

The top 10 fastest shrinking public school systems features NJ, NY and CT.

It’s unclear how public education will manage this decline, but it will be rough in these areas for the coming years.

For NJ, I’d previously highlighted the budget deficits in many districts.

Hackensack: $17M deficit. Perth Amboy: $13M. Toms River, East Orange, Lakewood, Middletown: all underwater.

Statewide, 167 NJ districts face aid cuts

AI chatbots will not save education

AI tutors in education don't work

Props to Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy and a GOAT in education, for his intellectual honesty here

Tech tools transmit information better, provide data, etc

They don't solve for motivation

The future of education is more human, not less

As always, if you have thoughts, please just hit reply and let me know.

Have the best week.

Forge ahead,
Anand

Co-founder, Forge Prep

P.S. We’re setting up our sports teams and game schedule for next year. If any athletic directors from Essex, Morris or Union county schools read this and want to schedule games with Forge, we’d love to chat.