With back-to-school ads already appearing, it’s time to break out the credit cards and participate in the huge seasonal payout. (bull) Nearly 1 in 6 consumers starts back-to-school shopping at least two months before the first bell rings. Most parents, though, start three weeks to one month in advance (40.9 percent) or one to two weeks before (34.6 percent). Only 2.8 percent (everyone we know) will wait until school starts. (bull) Here, courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the National Retail Federation, is the ‘rithmetic on shopping, teaching and schooling as America’s youths return to the classrooms.
74.6 million
Students, nursery school through college, in the U.S.
6.2 million
Classroom teachers in the country. That’s 12.6 students per teacher.
53.8 million
Students projected to enroll in grades K through 12 this fall.
55%. of 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in school. Only 20% were in 1970.
79% of girls are on track academically for their age.
69% of boys are on track academically for their age.
274,000
Decrease in elementary school-age children from 2000 to 2003.
429,000
Increase in the nation’s high school-age population from 2000 to 2003.
SPENDING
$483.28
Average number of dollars spent on back-to-school by a family containing elementary and/or high school students. The number is up from $450.76 last year.
WHERE THEY’LL SHOP
75.9% at discount stores
41.9% at department stores
35.1% at office supply stores
14.9% at drugstores
14.3% on the Internet
(Many consumers shop at a combination of the above, so the numbers total more than 100 percent).
$14.79 billion
Dollars spent by adults on back-to-school.
Almost half of the parents said their teenagers would be spending their own money on back-to-school items, spending an average of $84.58. Even the 6- to 12-year-olds in 23.3 percent of families will chip in, spending $40.48 on average. Collectively, teens and preteens will spend $884 million of their own money on back-to-school this year.
$9,953
Average in-state tuition, room and board at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an academic year, an 87 percent increase from 1990.
STUDENT LIFE
9.8 million
school-age kids speak a language other than English at home. That’s nearly 1 in 5. Most of them (6.9 million) speak Spanish.
2.9 million
high school diplomas will be awarded at the end of the school year. That diploma is worth estimated lifetime earnings of $1.2 million. Get a bachelor’s degree and lifetime earnings nearly double; go to work without finishing high school and earnings prospects drop to about $1 million.
99%
of schools have Internet access, up from 50% in 1995.
59%
of children ages 6 to 17 participate in after-school sports, clubs or lessons.
22%
of high school students ages 15 to 19 have full- or part- time jobs.
$54,300
California public elementary and secondary teachers’ average salary in 2002 (highest in the country).
$46,500 — Illinois teachers’ average salary.
$44,700 — National average.
$31,300 — S. Dakota teachers’ average (lowest in the country).
