2023-24 School Year Enrollment: 435 pre-kindergarten students welcomed in Lawrence County schools

There were 435 pre-kindergarten students enrolled in Lawrence County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 5.8% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Rock Hill Elementary School welcomed most of the pre-kindergarten students in the county, registering 100 students.

Within Lawrence County schools, the highest student count was found in second grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in 12th grade.

Statewide, Lawrence County ranked 39th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 8,302 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was also ranked 39th the year before.

In 2022, Ohio saw an average student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 1:15, which is an improvement for the state and is lower than the national average of 1:16.

Despite the apparent improvement, this positive trend is overshadowed by a general decline in public school enrollments, which was accelerated by the pandemic. This decline, aligned with the steady number of teachers in the state over the last 10 years, has led to low student-to-teacher ratios.