South Ohio News

There were 361 eighth grade students enrolled in Pike County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 6.2% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Waverly Junior High School welcomed most of the eighth grade students in the county, registering 142 students.

Within Pike County schools, the highest student count was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in pre-kindergarten.

Statewide, Pike County ranked 72nd in enrollment numbers, with a total of 4,278 students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year. It was also ranked 72nd 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.

School name	# of 8th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Waverly Junior High School	142	35	406
Piketon Junior-Senior High School	107	15.9	673
Eastern Middle School	59	32.6	181
Western High School	53	18.5	287
Western Elementary School	0	0	158
Waverly Intermediate School	0	0	366
Eastern Intermediate Elementary School	0	0	194
Jasper Elementary School	0	0	517
Western Primary School	0	0	234
Waverly Primary School	0	0	432
Eastern Primary Elementary School	0	0	190
Eastern High School	0	0	155
Waverly High School	0	0	483