Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Davenport is only school to increase
DAVENPORT - After a post-pandemic period of most local schools steadily or drastically increasing in enrollment numbers, that trend appears to have shifted for most area districts.
In fact, Davenport is the only area district to increase in enrollment from the 2022-23 school year to the 2023-24 school year.
The district set in the county seat has steadily grown by about 30 students each year since 2020. It currently has a headcount of 640, up from 609 last year.
"If you take our 3-year average, we're (growing) about 30-34 kids a year," superintendent Chad Prewitt said. "I think part of that is steady growth in our community...and if you look at academics, we're a good school."
Most elementary grades are well over 50, making the elementary school the hub of growth. Prewitt said that's a shift from past years, where traditionally secondary grades have grown more.
"We actually have a small junior class and seventh-grade class," Prewitt said. "If those numbers were normal we'd probably be even higher than where we are now."
The Reardan-Edwall School District, which grew to 752 students at the beginning of last year before dwindling to 715 students by the end of the school year, is currently at 700 students.
"The things I can point to for that is that our kindergarten class is lower, and we have more students going to Running Start," superintendent Eric Sobotta said. "We do have more students transferring in than out...113 students choiced in from other districts, while 95 choice out."
Many families happened to move out of the district this year, which led to surprising numbers for district staff given the growth ongoing on the West Plains.
"Our homeschool numbers are also down from 58 to 27 who have filled out their paperwork so far," Sobotta said. "Now, you don't have to fill out paperwork to homeschool until the child is 8 (years old) according to the state law, so I wonder if some families are keeping their kindergarteners at home and we don't know about it."
The Harrington School District saw a more significant drop in relative enrollment this year, falling from 150 students last year to 116 this year.
The drop was expected, as 116 students is more than the 104 budgeted for, superintendent Howard King.
"People move. People come and go," King said. "We had a big surge last year."
Odessa saw a slight drop, mostly caused by a couple families who had to move away for economic reasons last-minute. The south central Lincoln County district is at 212 students, a small decrease from last year's 222.
"A lot of families moving this year," superintendent Steve Fisk said. "In a couple cases, there were multiple siblings...(but) where we're at right now is where we budgeted for."
Christian Heritage School saw a massive spike in students between 2020 and 2021, nearly doubling in enrollment. Those numbers have since plateaued; this year, the school has 116 students.
That's a small drop from 123 students last year.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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