This brief provides information about enrollment patterns for K-12 students in Philadelphia’s public schools. The analyses focus on enrollment changes with respect to governing sector (District, Philadelphia Charter, Cyber Charter, Alternative, or Other), admission type (catchment, citywide, or criteria-based), and student demographics, based on data from the October 1 Enrollment Snapshot.

This brief looks at enrollment trends from 2015-16 through 2025-26, with a particular focus on year-over-year changes from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

Key findings include:

• As of October 1, 2025, overall enrollment in Philadelphia public schools was 198,405 students. Of that number:
  • 116,898 students were enrolled in District and Alternative schools.
    • 113,735 students were enrolled in District schools.
    • 3,163 students were enrolled in Alternative schools.
  • 64,469 students were enrolled in Philadelphia Charter schools.
  • 14,844 students were enrolled in Cyber Charter schools.
  • 2,194 students were enrolled in Other school categories.
• From 2015-16 to 2025-26:
  • District school enrollment decreased by 13.6% (17,963 fewer students).
  • Alternative school enrollment increased by 25.1% (634 more students).
  • Philadelphia Charter school enrollment increased by 1.6% (1,028 more students).
  • Cyber Charter school enrollment increased by 191.9% (9,759 more students).
• Similar to prior years, Spanish remained the most common non-English language spoken at home, as reported by families of students in District schools.
  • However, for the first time since 2020-21, the number and percentage of students with a reported home language of Spanish declined year-over-year, dropping by 2.3% from 2024-25 to 2025-26.
  • Portuguese was the second most common home language reported for students. However, for the first time since 2015-16, the number and percentage of students with a reported home language of Portuguese declined year-over-year, dropping by 4.2% from 2024-25 to 2025-26.