DOWNWARD TREND EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
Although the population in Platte County is growing, the largest public school district in the county continues to have a slight decline in student enrollment in this post-pandemic era, while smaller districts are experiencing an increase in student enrollment.
This fall, the enrollment of kindergarten through 12th grade students at Park Hill School District slipped to 11,573 in the 2023-2024 school year, according to current enrollment data. That is a drop of 73 students, representing a decline of .63% from 11,646 during the 2022-2023 school year, according to figures released by the district.
Student enrollment has been on a slight decline or remained flat since the 2020-2021 school year. After a high-water mark in 2019, the district has lost 134 students. In the 2019-2020 school year 11,707 students attended the Park Hill School District and the following year that number receded to 11,692 students.
“District K-12 enrollment has dropped over the last three years. This year’s drop is consistent with that trend and was forecasted,” said Kelly Wachel, chief communications officer of Park Hill School District.
With the number of students enrolled in schools decreasing, school officials are pressed to come up with reasons for the declining trend. Prior to the pandemic, student enrollment continued to increase year after year at Park Hill School District, according to figures released by the school district.
These results imply some families that turned to homeschooling and private schools during the pandemic continued down that path. Some parents who had a direct hand in their children’s learning perhaps noticed better learning results, while others more simply wanted to avoid the disruption of switching back to a traditional school environment.
Wachel attributes the decline in enrollments to “an aging population, lack of affordable housing, and birth rates declining in southern Platte County.”
Certainly, there’s a great deal of anecdotal evidence suggesting there are numerous reasons why the school district is experiencing waning enrollment, including a demographic shift.
One of the biggest changes in enrollment at Park Hill School District this fall is in the middle schools.
“The largest single year percentage drop was in middle school where the drop in enrollment was 91 students over the three grade levels (6th, 7th, 8th). The main cause is larger classes moving into ninth grade being replaced by small cohorts moving into sixth grade,” said Wachel.
The enrollment at Park Hill High School rose 7.7%, to 1,617, this fall, and the enrollment at Park Hill South High School rose 2.8 %, to 1,634.
Though high school enrollment at Park Hill High School and Park Hill South High School bounced back this school year, the LEAD Innovation Studio, which serves high school students across the entire district, experienced an enrollment drop of 86 students. The enrollment of 9th-grade through 12th-grade students at LEAD declined to 572 in 2023. This represents a decline of 13.1% from last year.
High school-age students in the district are given a choice each year to either attend the LEAD Innovation Studio, which offers a more personalized learning experience through self-directed and project-based learning, or their traditional high school. Some of the decline in enrollment at LEAD may be attributed to fewer students opting for a non-traditional school experience.
The LEAD Innovation Studio opened in 2020 and has an “ideal enrollment” of 600 students, school officials say. When The Landmark asked district officials what is contributing to the 13.1% decline in enrollment at LEAD, Wachel told The Landmark: “A decline in enrollment was forecasted to keep LEAD within capacity. In previous years, LEAD enrollment was exceeding capacity leaving the building short of classroom space needed for courses. Essentially, LEAD is now within their numbers for a healthy enrollment.”
Another big shift in Park Hill School District’s enrollment this academic year is in the elementary schools. Seven of the district’s 11 elementary schools experienced a slight slip in enrollment. Student enrollment fell by 45 students at Graden Elementary School, 22 students at Hawthorn Elementary, 14 at Line Creek Elementary, four students at Tiffany Ridge Elementary, three students at Thomas B. Chinn Elementary, two students at Union Chapel Elementary, and one at Hopewell Elementary.
Although there is a slight decline in student enrollment at most of the district’s elementary schools, Park Hill is actively planning on constructing a 12th elementary school near the Creekside Development, at the intersection of Interstate 435 and Missouri Hwy. 45. Its completion is scheduled for June 2025.
“The district has several mobile classrooms at current elementary schools to address overcrowding at those schools. Elementary 12 will allow the district to remove those mobile classrooms. And while enrollment across the district is down slightly, the need for more full-sized classrooms to support students has increased. Classrooms for English learners, special education, and math/reading intervention are needed. This creates a need for more classroom space in each building despite the steady or declining enrollment in a building,” said Wachel.
The district does not anticipate a rebound in enrollment or a reversal of the waning trend in the near future.
Demographics have indicated “small incremental drops in enrollment” over the next 10 years, added Wachel.
New enrollment projections will be updated this spring.
Platte County R-3
Student enrollment is increasing at Platte County School District and has climbed above pre-pandemic levels.
“Platte County School District’s K-12 enrollment has increased to 4,283 students in the 2023-24 school year from 4,222 in the 2022-23 school year as of the official Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education enrollment count date (last Wednesday in September). This equates to a 1.4% increase over last year’s enrollment,” said Laura Hulett, director of communications for Platte County School District.
Hulett said enrollment has exceeded the district’s forecast and future projections look to be on an uphill trajectory.
“According to our latest enrollment analysis and projections, the increase in enrollment is higher than expected, and is higher than the projected enrollment for the 2024-25 school year,” said Hulett.
Indications are recent housing development additions are driving population growth and have helped spur student enrollment in the district.
“This is the first year that Platte County School District’s enrollment total has returned to (and surpassed) pre-COVID numbers. In the 2019-20 school year, the District’s K-12 enrollment was 4,256. In 2020-21, PCR-3 decreased in enrollment by 51 students, the first time PCR-3 has seen a decrease in enrollment in 22 years. We attribute the growth to steady growth in development and single-family homes, as well as a return to pre-COVID processes and experiences,” said Hulett.
The rise in student enrollment at Platte County School District was observed across grade levels.
“High school enrollment went up by 10, middle school by two, and elementary by 49. This year’s kindergarten class is 310 students, up from under 300 in the past two years. Each cohort in K-5 also grew this year. The district has seen more students entering the district than leaving the district,” said Hulett.
Thanks in part to ongoing development, the Platte County School District predicts enrollment will continue to rise in the near future.
“PCR-3’s enrollment is forecasted to increase by about 200 students in the next five years, according to our latest enrollment projections conducted in fall of 2022. The district has already exceeded the projected enrollment for next year,” added Hulett.
West Platte
At West Platte School District, which serves a community of about 1,700 people, there are 679 students enrolled, so far, this year.
“Enrollment for this year in comparison to last is flat,” said Superintendent Brick Dover. “In 2021 COVID took a toll on enrollment for the district. Since ’21 the trend has increased to enrollment figures stronger than ’20.”
Looking ahead to the next academic year, Dover anticipates enrollment will remain consistent with this year’s student enrollment.
“I project enrollment being very close to this year with a graduation class of 46 students and a Pre-K group in the low 50s,” said Dover.