Minorities are expected to be the majority in K-12 schools in the 2014-2015 year, according to the U.S. Education Department’s Nation Center of Education Statistics. The national percentage of students who are White is projected to be less than 50 percent.

This fall, about 49.8 million students will attend public elementary and secondary schools. Of these students, 35.1 million will be in prekindergarten through grade 8, and 14.7 million will be in grades 9 through 12. Another 5 million students are expected to attend private schools.

Of the projected 49.8 million students attending public elementary and secondary schools in 2014, White students account for just under half at 24.8 million. The other 25 million are composed of 7.7 million African American students, 12.8 million Hispanic students, 2.6 million Asian/Pacific Islander students, 0.5 million American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 1.4 million students of two or more races.

The percentage of White students is predicted to continue decreasing the next several years as enrollments of Hispanics and Asians/Pacific Islanders increase through 2023. This is the last year attendance projections are available.

Around 1.3 million children are expected to attend public prekindergarten in 2014. Public Pre-K enrollment is projected to escalate to about 3.7 million students.

I am really pleased to see the numbers of minorities attending school on the rise this year. In the best interest of our country’s future, I believe that all Americans should attend school. These projections show that our nation is on the way to decreasing the education gap, and that makes me proud. I’m also glad to see how many students are attending Pre-K.  Early education is a key to a success.