Did Washington County enrollment numbers rise or fall in 2022-23 school year?

Washington County schools welcomed 4,061 students in the 2022-23 school year, 10.3% more than the previous year, according to the Maine Department of Education.

Washington County had the fourth least enrollment numbers in the state.

According to the data, 51.6% of the students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year were boys, and 48.4% were girls, and less than 0.1% did not specify their gender or identify with either category.

Most of the students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year were white, representing 83.6% of the Washington County student body.

Within the county, Washington Academy had the highest enrollment in the school year, welcoming 336 students.

While Maine’s public school enrollment has slightly rebounded from the sharp drop during the 2020-21 school year, it remains about 4% below pre-pandemic levels. The decline is partly due to an increase in homeschooling and more students completing high school early through college courses and adult education.

“Adult education enrollment is up, providing high school completion and job training programs to meet individual needs,” said a spokesman for the Maine Department of Education in an interview with Maine Public. Additionally, some pandemic-related factors persist, with “some parents choosing not to enroll younger children in school and older students who took on jobs to support their families during the pandemic and who are still counted on to provide that support.”

As of 2024, the average student-to-teacher ratio in public schools in Maine is 11:1, much lower than the national average of one teacher for every 15 students.