South Ohio News

There were 473 eighth grade students enrolled in Highland County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 7.3% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Hillsboro Middle School welcomed most of the eighth grade students in the county, registering 170 students.

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

Statewide, Highland County ranked 52nd in enrollment numbers, with a total of 6,456 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was also ranked 52nd 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
Hillsboro Middle School	170	35	486
Greenfield Middle School	120	31.8	377
Lynchburg-Clay Middle School	75	32.8	229
Fairfield Local Middle School	68	33	206
Whiteoak Junior High School	40	46.5	86
Hillsboro Intermediate School	0	0	309
Lynchburg-Clay High School	0	0	267
Fairfield Local High School	0	0	238
Whiteoak High School	0	0	165
Lynchburg-Clay Elementary School	0	0	506
McClain High School	0	0	544
Greenfield Elementary School	0	0	558
Hillsboro High School	0	0	607
Hillsboro Early Childhood Center	0	0	435
Hillsboro Primary School	0	0	355
Rainsboro Elementary School	0	0	214
Fairfield Local Elementary School	0	0	430
Bright Elementary School	0	0	440