South Ohio News

There were 471 first grade students enrolled in Highland County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 10.8% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Hillsboro Early Childhood Center welcomed most of the first grade students in the county, registering 160 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 1st Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Hillsboro Early Childhood Center	160	36.8	435
Lynchburg-Clay Elementary School	81	16	506
Greenfield Elementary School	80	14.3	558
Fairfield Local Elementary School	69	16	430
Bright Elementary School	53	12	440
Rainsboro Elementary School	28	13.1	214
Hillsboro High School	0	0	607
Hillsboro Intermediate School	0	0	309
Hillsboro Primary School	0	0	355
Hillsboro Middle School	0	0	486
McClain High School	0	0	544
Greenfield Middle School	0	0	377
Whiteoak Junior High School	0	0	86
Whiteoak High School	0	0	165
Fairfield Local High School	0	0	238
Fairfield Local Middle School	0	0	206
Lynchburg-Clay High School	0	0	267
Lynchburg-Clay Middle School	0	0	229