PRESS RELEASE: St. Louis Schools Face Challenges from Student Mobility Across the Region, Study Shows
A new multi-year study conducted by the St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) features the challenges and implications of high student transfer rates in and out of St. Louis City schools. The study reports an average student mobility rate in 2019 of 37%, for St. Louis City public and charter schools, such as SLPS, KIPP, and Confluence. In 2023, though declining, the average mobility rate was 27.9%, with rates ranging from 10.1% to 71.0% in STL City public charter schools in 2023. Though not all negative, student mobility takes a toll on learning, schools, teachers, students and families.
St. Louis, February 19, 2024 – A new multi-year study conducted by the St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) features the challenges and implications of high student transfer rates in and out of St. Louis City schools. The study reports an average student mobility rate in 2019 of 37%, for St. Louis City public and charter schools, such as SLPS, KIPP, and Confluence. In 2023, though declining, the average mobility rate was 27.9%, with rates ranging from 10.1% to 71.0% in STL City public charter schools in 2023. Though not all negative, student mobility takes a toll on learning, schools, teachers, students and families.
This comprehensive research initiative sought to understand the dynamics of student transfer before the end of a school year, identifying the primary factors driving students to change schools—ranging from housing instability, previous moves, and disciplinary issues. Student-level data from 2011-2022 obtained from the Missouri Department of Education and Secondary Education was analyzed across years to answer the questions, “Who’s moving? Where are they going? What are the drivers? How does transferring impact academic outcomes?”
The findings of this research underscore the profound impact of student mobility on educational continuity, particularly in critical areas of literacy, mathematics, and science. During the course of the study, researchers also found that the COVID-19 pandemic interventions inadvertently had stabilizing effects on student mobility, with eviction moratoriums and reduced disciplinary measures contributing to fewer school transfers. This insight highlights the complex, nuanced nature of student mobility and its far-reaching consequences on student engagement and attendance.
In response to these findings, educational leaders across St. Louis are working to address the challenges posed by student mobility through initiatives to support students and their families. These include enhancing coordination and information sharing between educators to create continuity of academic support, connecting students in transition with comprehensive community services, reevaluating disciplinary practices that predict transfer, and renewing efforts to ensure a welcoming environment for students entering new schools, especially during their critical freshman year.
"Our partnership and the subsequent findings of this study mark a significant step forward in our understanding of student mobility and its effects on educational outcomes," stated Dr. Candice Carter-Oliver, one of the leading figures in this research effort. "By leveraging these insights, we are committed to implementing evidence-based strategies that address the root causes of mobility and foster a more stable, supportive educational environment for all students."
The St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative pilot research represents the beginning of a long-term commitment to supporting families through rigorous-research driven by practitioners. The insights gained from this study will serve as a foundation for ongoing efforts to enhance the educational experience for students across St. Louis, ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their circumstances.
For more detailed information on the study's findings and the collaborative efforts underway, please visit www.stlrpc.org.
The St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative is a coalition of St. Louis educational leaders, researchers, and community organizations dedicated to improving student outcomes through collaborative, evidence-based research initiatives. By addressing the complex challenges facing today's educational systems, the Collaborative seeks to foster environments that support the academic and personal growth of every student.
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Presenting Mobility Work to Board of Aldermen
Last week members of the SRPC began an important dialogue with elected city officials on the challenge of student mobility. The SRPC introduced itself and presented its early research findings to the St. Louis Board of Alderman’s Education and Youth Matters Committee.
You can watch a recording of the presentation and conversation with committee members on the city’s YouTube page.
Mobility Project Featured on St. Louis on the Air
The SRPC and our initial report on student mobility were the subject of a segment on St. Louis on the Air, a daily talk show from St. Louis Public Radio, earlier this month. Jason Jabbari, a member of our research team and a professor at Washington University, and Ashland Elementary teacher Andrew Eason joined host Elaine Cha to discuss the findings of the report and talk about why this work is so important in improving education outcomes in St. Louis.
Listen to the interview segment here!
SRPC Publishes First Report on St. Louis’ High Student Mobility Rate
Changing schools mid-academic year is a reality for too many Saint Louis school children, with frequent movement leading to disruptions in learning and unstable school communities. Our newly published research paints a fuller picture of the challenge student mobility for our city’s public schools. Visit the project page to find the full report and key findings.
Updating Our School Partners on Our Progress
It all begins with an idea.
During the SRPC’s pilot project on student mobility, we’ve kept our school partners updated on the progress. Here’s a summary of the presentations members of our team have delivered so far.
January 2023 Presentation to the St. Louis Board of Education
On January 10, SKIP’s Executive Director Saras Chung gave a presentation to St. Louis Public Schools school board as part of our ongoing relationship with the school district. Chung discussed both the challenges the SRPC has encountered in the past year as well as successes and wins. She then gave an overview of some preliminary findings and laid out the timeline and agenda for 2023. Watch the presentation here and you can also look through the slides with this link.
October 2022 Presentation to the St. Louis school board’s legislative committee
In the fall of 2022, The SRPC went before the legislative committee of the St. Louis Board of Education to give them an update on early findings and progress on the student mobility project. You can watch the presentation here.
Presenting to Confluence Academies’ Board of Directors
Representatives of the SRPC have also updated members of Confluence Academies’ board, filling them in on what researchers have found so far about student mobility. The presentation was well received and appreciated. The findings weren’t a shock to people who work closely with St. Louis’ school children, but did confirm their perceptions with data.
Year in Review: 2022
It all begins with an idea.
Hello!
What a year we’ve had here at the St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative. The last time you may have heard from us was late 2021, when we were taking our first steps into the pilot research project around student mobility. Now, we’re happy to say we’re hitting our stride. 2022 was a year of hard work mostly behind the scenes, but we also had our first public event.
In partnership with the Institute for School Partnership, we presented the work happening in St. Louis at the National Network for Research Practice Partnerships’ Annual Forum. We’re now gearing up to publish our first public brief, which will set the scene for what student mobility looks like in St. Louis and how the city stacks up to other parts of Missouri. Keep an eye out early next year for the report!
Research and Data
This year, we’ve been collecting data and formalizing agreements with our university and school partners. Our initial public brief is based largely on analyzing broad stats and existing research. We have finished collecting more granular data and are getting to work on analyzing it. We are also hard at work mapping what mobility looks like for schools and the neighborhoods they serve. The work won’t just hinge on what the numbers say. Also early next year, we’ll kick off a series of interviews with families affected by mobility to bring context and experiences to the figures.
We’re also happy to tell you about a $3.6 million grant award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to our partners Washington University, Saint Louis University, SLU’s PRiME Center, the Institute for School Partnership, St. Louis Public Schools, KIPP St. Louis, Confluence Academies, and Ritenour School District. This grant will fund post-doctoral fellows’ work to help us with our research over six years.
Knowledge Engagement
This past spring, we had a great turnout at a forum we held at Washington University to describe the SRPC and its work. We continued to explain how we work and what we’re working on with presentations to the boards of our school partners.
Speaking of Wash U, their Arts & Sciences magazine interviewed Andrew Butler, chair of their education department and member of our advisory council, in May about the SRPC. Read the article here!
We’re now on social media so you can stay more informed on our work and research. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We plan to send out newsletter updates more frequently as we begin to have research and analysis to share.
Need a refresher on who we are?
Since you may be new to finding us and signing up for newsletters (welcome!), or maybe it’s just been awhile, here’s a reminder of who and what the SRPC is!
The SRPC is a long-term collaboration between three of St. Louis’s largest public education providers and higher education institutions to help improve K-12 education. Our goal is to conduct rigorous research driven by educators’ needs and to inform practices that foster systemic improvements in how we educate children in St. Louis.
We have a FAQ page, timeline, and who’s who, all on our website, so poke around to find out more!
Even in the midst of this cold-snap, it continues to warm our hearts to see all the collaboration across the many institutions that make up the SRPC. This important work wouldn’t be possible without the time and effort from our practitioners and university researchers.
Enjoy the quiet and relaxation of the end of the year. We look forward to having lots more to share next year. We’ll talk to you all then!
Highlights by Washington University
Wash U’s Arts & Sciences magazine interviewed Andrew Butler, chair of their education department and member of our advisory council, in May 2022 about the SRPC. Read the article here.
Wash U also wrote about the grant from the James S.McDonnell Foundation award the SRPC for post-doctoral student researchers to work with us.
Public Forum at Washington University
It all begins with an idea.
Washington University’s education department hosted the SRPC for a public event in March 2022. Members of the SRPC’s Advisory Board, including Dr. Candice Carter-Oliver, CEO of Confluence Academies, and Dr. Nicole Williams, the current interim superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools, discussed the importance of forming the SRPC and why it chose to focus first on student mobility. Also presenting on behalf of the SRPC were Jay Hartman from St. Louis Public Schools; SKIP Designed Executive Director Dr. Saras Chung; and university researchers Dr. Andrew Butler, Dr. Amber Jones, and Dr. Jason Jabbari. The well-attended event was covered by St. Louis Public Radio and you can read the story here.
St. Louis Public Radio Covers SRPC Forum
It all begins with an idea.
St. Louis Public Radio wrote about the launch of the SRPC student mobility pilot research project after its education reporter attended the forum held at Washington University in March 2022. Check out the full article on STLPR’s website!