Back to School: 2015-2016

Summertime is winding down and vacations are coming to an end, signaling that back-to-school time is here. It’s a time that many children eagerly anticipate — catching up with old friends and making new ones, and settling into a new daily routine. Parents and children alike scan newspapers and websites looking for sales on a multitude of school supplies and the latest clothing fads and essentials. This edition of Facts for Features highlights the many statistics associated with the return to classrooms by our nation’s students and teachers.

Back-to-School Shopping

$8.2 billion  

The estimated amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2014. Sales at bookstores in August 2014 were estimated at $1.6 billion. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services <http://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/excel/mrtssales92-present.xls>

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2013, there were 27,340 family clothing stores, 7,047 children and infants clothing stores, 25,100 shoe stores 6,998 office supply and stationery stores, 7,064 bookstores and 8,102 department stores. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 County Business Patterns, NAICS: 448140, 448130, 448210, 453210, 451211, 45211<http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2013/00A1//naics~44813|44814|448210|451211|4521|453210>

Students

78 million

The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2013 — from nursery school to college. They comprised 25.9 percent of the entire population age 3 and older.

Debut Issue of 'Big Data' Journal Features Syracuse iSchool Roundtable

A new academic journal, Big Data, debuted this month, and its first issue features a recap of a spirited roundtable discussion conducted with a team from the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool).

The article, Educating the Next Generation of Data Scientists [PDF], captures a wide range of perspectives about the subject voiced during a roundtable moderated by the journal?s editor-in-chief, Edd Dumbill. Participating on the discussion panel were iSchool Dean Elizabeth D. Liddy; Senior Associate Dean and Professor Jeffrey Stanton; information management and data science graduate student Kate Mueller; and Microsoft FUSE Lab?s Shelly Farnham.

The discussion began with panelists addressing the basic question of defining the field of data science. It turned to observations about patterns and trends in data education, including the iSchool at Syracuse University?s approach of educating for the full lifecycle of the data field. Panelists also spoke about students who are entering the field and their various backgrounds and subject matter orientations. The high demand for data graduates, as well as career options and the needs of business and industry for data specialists also were detailed. In addition, panelists touched on the importance of higher education continuing its connection to and collaboration with industries who are hiring in the data field...

The journal, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is designed to ?bring together the community to address current challenges and enforce effective efforts to organize, store, disseminate, protect, manipulate, and, most importantly, find the most effective strategies to make this incredible amount of information work to benefit society, industry, academia, and government,? the issue states.