The Greenwood and Leflore County school districts both registered small enrollment declines this fall from last year, while Carroll County stayed nearly the same.
Enrollment in the Greenwood district was down 1.9 percent. The only schools there with increases were Greenwood High, with 2.6 percent more students, and Threadgill Elementary, with 1.2 percent more. The other schools’ declines ranged from 1.9 percent at Davis Elementary to 7.9 percent at Greenwood Middle School.
The number of Hispanic students in the district rose by nearly 85 percent.
Dr. Jennifer Wilson, superintendent, said the overall decrease “can possibly be attributed to an overall population loss, as well as students moving out of district and out of state.”
The Leflore County district’s enrollment was down 5.5 percent overall. Only Claudine Brown Elementary and Amanda Elzy Junior High had increases — 10.5 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.
James Johnson-Waldington, the district’s interim superintendent, could not be reached for comment.
The Greenwood and Leflore County districts are set to merge before the next school year.
Combined, the two districts presently have just under 4,900 students. Ninety-four percent are African-American.
The lone school between them that has had a significant white enrollment in recent decades, Bankston Elementary, continues to lose white students. This past year, white enrollment fell by 16 percent, and whites now comprise less than 25 percent of its student body. Meanwhile, the North Greenwood school accounted for most of the school district’s increase in Hispanic enrollment. Hispanic students now make up 11 percent of Bankston’s total enrollment.
The Carroll County district’s enrollment was virtually the same as last year’s, declining by only three students.
Billy Joe Ferguson, the superintendent, said the biggest surprise was in kindergarten. He said the enrollment there was 68, which was “about par” — but, based on word of mouth, he had expected 50 to 55 children and thought they might not need to keep three teachers. With 68, all three are needed, he said.
That growth is an encouraging sign, he said, because a small kindergarten class is more likely to remain small as its students advance to the higher grades.
J.Z. George High School has about 2 percent more students than last year, but that wasn’t enough to require any adjustments in classes or staffing, Ferguson said.
“We’re pretty well full at the high school,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of room over there.”
Pillow Academy started the year with 769 students. It had 760 when last year began and ended the year with 757.
Headmaster Rodney Brown said strong numbers in kindergarten have helped, and the school just finished a couple of years of smaller-than-normal graduating classes.
He said Pillow is always looking to attract more students and might begin stepping up its marketing efforts.
Carroll Academy’s enrollment dropped by 3.6 percent, from 332 to 320.
Penny Mitchell, who became headmaster this year after serving as a counselor there since 2013, said she’s happy with the number.
“We’d love to have some more students, but we’re doing pretty well with what we’ve got,” she said.
A large senior class graduated in the spring, but Carroll has picked up some students since classes started, Mitchell said. The school tries to attract as many students as possible by offering classes such as art, computer science and Bible in addition to activities such as the junior high school’s robotics club, she said.
North New Summit School began the year with 142 students, including 11 in its online program. Last year’s starting total was 148, so the school is “right at where we usually are as far as this time of year,” Principal Keith Davis said.
The seventh-grade and ninth-grade classes are larger this year, and North New Summit usually adds a few students in January or early February, Davis said.
“We still have waiting lists for some grades, so we’re fine,” he said.
Jackie Lewis, principal of St. Francis of Assisi Elementary, said the school had 72 students after starting last year with 86. She said she hopes to add more next term or even sooner.
“Registration is ongoing,” she said. “If someone wants to transfer in, we would gladly accept them.”
At one time, St. Francis faced the possibility of not reopening this fall if it didn’t enroll at least 60 students. It met that goal but has had to combine some grades because of the enrollment decline. Lewis said the school is fully staffed to meet the students’ needs.
Delta Streets Academy reported an enrollment of 69 students. It started last year with 57 and ended with 52 in the spring.
T. Mac Howard, the head of the school, said it’s encouraging that the seventh grade reached its maximum enrollment of 20 students. This is the first time that had happened in any grade at Delta Streets, which opened in the fall of 2012.
• Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
