NC: State to see dramatic demographic shifts

Via William

Dramatic demographic shifts are in store for North Carolina schools, according to a report presented during Thursday’s State Board of Education Meeting.

James H. Johnson from the Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School presented a report to the board on the changing face of the population in North Carolina and its impact on the school system.

“It’s our challenge…to figure out how to deal with this issue,” he told the board.

He noted that in 2011, the immigrant population in the country was 40.4 million, a 5.2 million increase from 2005. Almost 47 percent of the foreign born population in 2011 was Hispanic, which is a dramatic shift. Before 1965, immigrants to the country were visibly similar to the American population and had an easier time assimilating. In a sense, he said, they were invisible. But since 1965, the immigrant population has become what he calls visible minorities: people from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

“We’re talking about a profound color shift in our society,” he said.

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