U.S. school system continues to grow

The burgeoning, bustling American school system continues to evolve.

For one thing, it’s bigger. According to Census Bureau figures released yesterday, more than 73 million students attend the nation’s preschools, elementary and high schools, colleges and universities.

One out of every four U.S. residents over the age of 3, in fact, is a student.

The number of children in elementary and high schools alone — more than 53 million — has exceeded the old baby-boom record of 51.6 million, set in 1969, the last year the official boomers (born 1946-64) passed through our schools.

Among those ages 5-17, 10 percent attend private school and 850,000 are home-schooled. There are 1,010 charter schools nationwide, serving 267,000 students.

Twenty percent of those students have at least one foreign-born parent. Almost 10 million speak a language other than English at home, making up nearly 20 percent of children in this age group. More than two-thirds of those speak Spanish at home.

It’s the smallest ones, however, who are setting some real records.

More than half — 52 percent — of our 3- and 4-year-olds go to preschool, up from 21 percent in 1970. Most spend a good amount of time there.

According to the census figures, six out of 10 of them attend all-day preschools, up from one in 10 three decades ago.

Our children lead plugged-in and often complicated lives.

Ninety-eight percent of our schools have Internet access — that figure was 50 percent in 1995. Four out of five children ages 6-17 use computers at school, with four children, on average, sharing one school computer. Two out of three have access to a computer at home.

About 59 percent of this age group participate in extracurricular sports, clubs or lessons. Among high schoolers, 26 percent work full- or part-time.

Still, most hold their own in school: 72 percent of children ages 12-17 “are academically on track for their age,” according to the statistics. The rate is higher for girls than for boys (79 percent versus 69 percent).

The amount of money involved is substantial: Public school systems spent just less than $411 billion in 2001, up $30 billion from 2000. New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia lead in per-pupil expenditures, each spending more than $10,000 a year on each child.

And what of our 6.5 million teachers?

Their average annual salary last year was $43,300, with teachers in New Jersey receiving the highest salaries ($53,300), and South Dakota the lowest ($30,300).

Parents of students bound for the nation’s 4,084 colleges and universities have much to fret about.

The average total yearly cost at public colleges is now $9,326, up 75 percent from 1990. Among private schools, the average cost per year is $27,711 — up 84 percent from 1990.

Is it worth it? Census figures show that a student who graduated last year with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering had a starting salary of $54,761; those with degrees in the humanities an average $30,653.

In their lifetimes, doctors, lawyers and others with advanced degrees can expect to earn an average $4.4 million. Those with Ph.D.s will receive $3.4 million, master’s degree’s $2.1 million and bachelor’s degrees $2.1 million.

Those with high school diplomas will earn $1.2 million over the course of their working careers; high school dropouts can expect to earn $1 million.