Nearly 50 million students are heading off to approximately 97,000 public elementary and secondary schools for the fall term. Before the school year is out, an estimated $489 billion will be spent related to their education, with an average of $9,969 to be spent per pupil for fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools.

Some 3.2 million teachers are projected to be employed in public elementary and secondary schools in 2007-08. And more than 1.1 million students — about two percent of all students — will be homeschooled. These are just a few of the statistics contained in “Back to School Stats,” compiled by the Institute of Education Sciences’ research and statistical centers.

Find more statistics.