Enrollment Trends Across Five Types of Public Schools in St. Louis City

By : Amy Shelton, Ph.D.

In this second blog of a four-part series, we examine enrollment trends from fall 2020 through fall 2025 across five types of public schools in St. Louis City: Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) neighborhood schools (31 schools in 2025–26), SLPS open magnet schools (20), SLPS selective magnet schools (8), SLPS special population schools (4), and 37 public charter schools operated by 17 charter local education agencies (see definitions in Table 1).

Overall, public school enrollment decreased by 8.9% between fall 2020 and fall 2025. In fall 2025, there were 27,655 students enrolled in public schools in St. Louis City, a decrease of 2,691 students from 30,346 students in fall 2020. SLPS enrollment declined by 16.5% (3,069 students), and charter school enrollment increased by 3.2% (378 students; Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

SLPS Enrollment Decreased 16.5% While Charter School Enrollment Increased 3.2%

Enrollment by St. Louis City Public School Sectors (Fall 2020–Fall 2025)

The enrollment decline was largest in SLPS open magnet schools. Between fall 2020 and fall 2025, SLPS neighborhood schools experienced an enrollment decrease of 8.2% (634 students), while open magnet school enrollment decreased by 27.6% (2,256 students; Figure 2). Selective magnet school enrollment has been stable over the past six school years.

FIGURE 2

Enrollment Decline Steepest in SLPS Open Magnet Schools

Enrollment by Five St. Louis City Public School Types (Fall 2020–Fall 2025)

The most notable shifts in enrollment by public school type were in the city’s high schools. Enrollment in charter high schools steadily increased between fall 2020 and fall 2025 (Figure 3). Meanwhile, enrollment in open magnet high schools decreased by 44.7% from 2,802 students in fall 2020 to 1,552 students in fall 2025. 
About one-third of the decline in open magnet high school enrollment was due to a restructuring of Career and Technical Education in the district. Students who were formerly enrolled in Beaumont CTE were counted toward neighborhood high school enrollment starting in fall 2024, resulting in a 416-student drop in open magnet school enrollment between fall 2023 and fall 2024 and helping to explain a concurrent increase of 345 students in the district’s three neighborhood high schools, particularly Roosevelt High. Enrollment in neighborhood high schools then decreased in fall 2025 but is still higher than it was from fall 2020 through fall 2023. Selective magnet high school enrollment declined slightly each year between fall 2020 and fall 2025.

FIGURE 3

Open Magnet High School Enrollment Dropping, Charter High School Enrollment Growing

Enrollment in St. Louis City High Schools (Fall 2020–Fall 2025)

What explains these enrollment shifts? Declining enrollment in SLPS is likely driven by a steady decline in the size of the school-age population living in St. Louis City and may also be explained by the rise in homeschooling in Missouri during the COVID-19 pandemic. If new charter school students transferred from SLPS, that would account for only 12% of the overall decline in SLPS enrollment between fall 2020 and fall 2025. 

However, at the high school level, there may be a shift occurring from enrollment in SLPS open magnets to enrollment in charter high schools. Open magnets and charters are similar in that they require an application but do not have selective admission criteria. While one-third of the decline in open magnet high school enrollment between fall 2020 and fall 2025 can be explained by the restructuring of CTE, the 573-student increase in charter high school enrollment during that same time could possibly explain another 45.8% of the open magnet high school decline. 

Examining long-term trends in public school enrollment by different types of public schools and at different school levels gives us a more nuanced understanding of changes in public school participation over time.

TABLE 1

St. Louis City Has Five Types of Public Schools

Definitions of St. Louis City Public Schools Types

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