Enrollment has declined in the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District and the Carroll County School District as everyone continues to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enrollment is down by 11% in the Greenwood Leflore district and 9.5% in Carroll County.
Dr. Mary Brown, the Greenwood Leflore district’s superintendent, said the enrollment there has picked up since August, and she predicted it would continue to do so as the year progresses.
There were 3,869 students in August and 4,162 in September, Brown said in a statement. By Oct. 9, the total had grown to 4,195. Brown said there were 4,263 students on Oct. 22, after the district provided its detailed numbers to the Commonwealth.
“Given that many parents and educators were uncertain and fearful about sending their children to school in a pandemic, the district worked diligently to help reduce many of those fears,” Brown said. “The decline in student enrollment figures this year could be attributed to many factors. However, the district is seeing enrollment increases.”
The only increase in the district was at Greenwood Middle School, which had 12.9% more students.
Several of the other schools had declines of double-digit percentages, with the largest drop, 25.8%, occurring at Bankston Elementary. The declines were smaller at Amanda Elzy High, which was down 0.8%; Greenwood High, down 7%; and Leflore County High, down 2.1%.
The Carroll County district’s enrollment was down from 923 to 835. Superintendent Jim Ray said this was expected. “We’re down just a little bit, and we think that’s the effect of COVID,” he said.
Enrollment has been down in recent years, and Ray said it was above 900 when he took over in January. As always, some Carroll County students moved, and others shifted to homeschooling. Ray said he expects the numbers to increase again.
He said no classes had been eliminated in response to the enrollment decline. Students fell behind in instruction last year because of the pandemic and now have to catch up, but he believes they are working to get where they need to be.
“With all the circumstances around us, we’re pleased how things are going,” he said.
Leflore Legacy Academy begins its first year with 123 sixth graders, and Dr. Tamala Boyd Shaw, the charter school’s founder, said instruction was off to a good start, although they had to adjust to providing it virtually.
She said a plan is being assembled to offer hybrid instruction beginning in January, with some in person and some virtually, and they should know by Dec. 1 whether that plan will work.
Pillow Academy, which has had steady enrollment in the last few years, gained 19 students this year, growing from 769 to 788.
Barrett Donahoe, the head of school, said there was some uncertainty about being able to provide in-person learning during the pandemic, but it has gone well, and the families have appreciated it.
“It’s important to be on campus,” he said. “It’s the best way to learn.”
Donahoe said the gain in students was spread out across grade levels and did require some small adjustments in staff.
At Carroll Academy, which also has stayed steady in its enrollment in the last few years, the total declined 2.8% to 317. Headmaster Penny Mitchell said she hoped it would stay close to that.
There was concern because of the pandemic, but “we feel good where we are,” Mitchell said.
She said the staff has been following CDC guidelines to make sure everyone stays healthy. Also, “the kids have been good,” she said. “They’ve jumped on board, and so far we’ve had a smooth start.”
At North New Summit School, the enrollment was down slightly to 122 — “about par” for what was expected, Headmaster Keith Davis said.
New Summit is offering both virtual and on-campus instruction, and there were some technological challenges implementing the virtual part, but it’s off to a good start, Davis said. About 12 students are taking part in the virtual program.
Davis said there had been “no issues on campus at all” so far. New Summit usually adds some students as the year progresses, and it is prepared to do that this year, he said.
St. Francis of Assisi School had 47 students, but the principal, Jackie Cooper-Lewis, said the school “could have had at least another 25” if not for the limits required by the pandemic.
Cooper-Lewis said they looked at limiting enrollment to 45 students during the budgeting process but decided they could handle 47 and still maintain social distancing. The school has adequate staff to teach the students and, with the help of government COVID-19 aid, has not had to make any financial cuts, she said.
“Everything is going quite well,” Cooper-Lewis said.
Delta Streets Academy grew from 61 students to 83 and has adjusted well, said T. Mac Howard, head of school.
“We didn’t necessarily have a goal, but that is a good number for us,” he said. In fact, without the constraints caused by COVID-19, the school could have had 95 to 100, he said.
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
