11 Facts About Back-to-School

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Going back to school can be super exciting, but anxiety around being bullied can also make it super stressful. Bring good vibes with you back to school through our Cancel Bullying campaign, powered by Hollister. Help spread positivity by printing and posting tear sheets filled with kind words and positive affirmations made to get everybody smiling.

1. In 2019, US households with students in grades K-12 are spending an average of $696.70 on back-to-school shopping.^[“Back to Class Data Center.” National Retail Federation. https://nrf.com/insights/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/back-school/back-class-data-center. Accessed September 4, 2019).]
2. About half of all back-to-school shopping is done online in 2019.^[“Back to Class Data Center.” National Retail Federation. https://nrf.com/insights/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/back-school/back-class-data-center. Accessed September 4, 2019).]
3. Fall 2019 has the highest enrollment ever reported in the US for public K-12 schools, with 50.8 million students. ^[“Fast Facts: Back to School Statistics” National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372. Accessed September 4, 2019).]
4. Earlier start dates for US public schools are more common in the South and Southwest, and later starts are more common along the East Coast, upper Midwest, and Northwest.^["Back to School.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/14/back-to-school-dates-u-s/). Accessed September 4, 2019.]
5. In 2019, the most popular start week in the US is between August 12 and August 16, representing about 1/3 of students. ^["Back to School.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/14/back-to-school-dates-u-s/). Accessed September 4, 2019.]
6. In the US, the average school day is 6.8 hours long. In Finland, it’s 5 hours, and in Taiwan, it’s 8.5 hours.^["Statistic of the Month: How Much Time Do Students Spend in School." National Center on Education and the Economy.http://ncee.org/2018/02/statistic-of-the-month-how-much-time-do-students-spend-in-school/. Accessed September 2019.]
7. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Medical Association all recommend that school days start after 8:30 a.m., but 87% of US public schools start earlier than that.^[Joe Pinsker. "The Curse of America’s Illogical School-Day Schedule.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/school-day-sleep-workday/570658/. Accessed September 4, 2019.]
8. Students from families with higher household incomes are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities. ^["6 Facts About America’s Students." Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/07/6-facts-about-americas-students/. Accessed September 4, 2019.]
9. In 2017, public schools in the US spent an average of $12,000 per student.^["Fun Facts: Back to School." US Census Bureau. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/back-to-school-ff.pdf. Accessed September 4, 2019.]
10. More than twice as many principals in 2017 said students in their schools were assigned some type of mobile device, like a laptop or tablet, than in 2015.^[Tara Garcia Mathewson. “Future of Learning…” The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/the-learning-experience-is-different-in-schools-that-assign-laptops-a-survey-finds/. Accessed September 4, 2019]
11. “School refusal” refers to students missing school because of fears caused by an underlying anxiety disorder. It’s estimated that school refusal affects between 2-5% of students in the US.^[Alisha Kirby. "Refusal: A Large Number of Kids Just Say No to School" K-12 Daily. https://cabinetreport.com/human-resources/refusal-a-large-number-of-kids-just-say-no-to-school. Accessed September 4, 2019.]