Most of the significant enrollment changes among area school districts occurred at the elementary level, but the heavy losses seen in Hot Springs were spread throughout the district.
The Cutter Morning Star School District posted the largest increase or decrease in the last 14 years among area school districts when it added 53 students, a growth of 9 percent, for the 2017-18 school year. Cutter Morning Star Elementary School accounted for more than 81 percent of the increase.
The Arkansas Department of Education recently posted the official numbers for individual schools for the 2017-18 school year on its online Statewide Information System Reports. The ADE's Data Center includes numbers from the 2004-05 school year to the present.
The elementary school's official 2017-18 enrollment of 348 students is the most it has reported since the ADE has posted numbers online. The school's previous bests since 2004 was 344 in 2009.
Another surge at Fountain Lake Elementary School helped the Fountain Lake School District post another record enrollment this school year. The district's enrollment eclipsed 1,400 students for the first time.
The elementary school accounted for 37 students out of the district's net gain of 38. The campus has grown from 410 students in 2010 to 530 in 2017-18. Totals for Fountain Lake Middle School Cobra Digital Prep Academy and Fountain Lake Charter High School have increased by 19 and 84 students, respectively.
A loss of 115 students in the Hot Springs School District was felt throughout its six campuses. Enrollment at Hot Springs World Class High School declined by 35 students from 2016 after five consecutive years of growth. The school expanded its student body from 713 students in 2011 to 965 students in 2016.
Enrollment at the Hot Springs Junior Academy conversion charter middle school similarly declined by 37 students from 538 in its final year as Hot Springs Middle school to 501 this school year. Hot Springs Intermediate School's total of 490 students is its lowest since the campus was added in 2009.
Numbers at the intermediate school decreased each year after a peak enrollment of 574 in 2013. The intermediate school will no longer be an entity in the district when it reconfigures its campuses to extend the elementary magnet schools to sixth grade instead of fourth grade and places grades 7-9 in the new junior high campus next to the high school.
The combined enrollment of Gardner STEM Magnet School, Langston Aerospace and Environmental Studies Magnet School, Oaklawn Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School and Park International Baccalaureate Magnet School decreased by 14 students to contribute to the district's overall losses. Totals for the magnets have fluctuated between 1,617 and 1,691 in the past eight years.
The Lake Hamilton and Lakeside school districts added 35 and 28 students, respectively, for 2017-18, but gains and losses were seen across their campuses.
Lake Hamilton High School reported a net gain of 17 students to surpass 1,000 once again for a total of 1,007. The district's middle school and intermediate school combined to grow by 24 students.
Lakeside High School's net gain of two students set a record of 1,346 students as the district posted a record total of 3,497. The district saw enrollment decrease by 29 students at the intermediate school, but increases of 32 and 23 at the middle school and primary school, respectively.
Individual schools in the Jessieville School District combined for an overall steady enrollment. Jessieville High School experienced a net loss of 19 students, but it was negated by a net gain of 27 students at Jessieville Middle School for its greatest enrollment since 2012.
The high school's total of 252 students is its lowest since the middle school was added a decade ago. More than 300 students were enrolled at Jessieville High School in 2009.
Mountain Pine's numbers have held relatively steady since a sharp decline of 53 students, 9 percent, from 2013-14 to 2014-15. The elementary school and high school have lost a net of six and three students, respectively, in the last four years.
The next most significant increases and decreases in the area were also seen at the elementary level. The Centerpoint School District's enrollment at the elementary level increased by 39 students with the completion of Centerpoint Elementary School campus in the spring.
The elementary school's enrollment of 447 is the most the district has seen for elementary grades since 2011. Enrollment at Centerpoint High School decreased by nine students to 516.
A net loss of 103 students for Malvern Elementary School contributed to the district's overall decline of 95, but a two-year increase of 290 students to 345 this school year at Wilson Intermediate School reflects the school's greatest enrollment in 10 years. Enrollment at Malvern High School fell from 617 students in 2013 to 525 students in 2016 before a net gain of four students this year.
A net gain of 17 students for the Glen Rose School District includes increase of 17 students and six students at the middle school and high school, respectively. Magnet Cove Elementary School's increase of 14 students balanced out a net loss of 12 students at Magnet Cove High School. The Bismarck School District's net loss of 15 students included a decrease of 12 students at Bismarck Elementary School.
Local on 11/02/2017