CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Fall enrollment in Wyoming’s school districts is the lowest enrollment levels since the 2012-2013 school year, according to the Wyoming Department of Education. Wyoming’s 48 school districts dropped from 93,832 students in the 2019-20 school year to 91,938 during the 2020-21 school year.
Teton County School District #1 saw a decrease as well, with 2,749 students enrolled in the 2020-2021 school year compared to 2,869 enrolled in the 2019-2020 school year. The most students ever enrolled in Teton County School District #1 was during 2018.-2019 school year with 2,881 students.
Wyoming’s public schools lost a total of 1,894 students. While 10 districts saw an increase in enrollment, 38 districts decreased enrollment from the previous year.
Wyoming school districts that saw the largest increases in enrollment offer statewide virtual education programs. These districts include Niobrara County School District #1 with a 76.8% increase or 607 students, Park County School District #16 with a 75.5% increase, or 74 students, and Big Horn County School District #1 with a 68.1% increase, or 729 students.
“Wyoming had a structure in place to offer full-time virtual education to students before the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. “I am proud of Wyoming educators for their commitment to offering in-person instruction and I’m grateful that parents and families had a range of public, home, virtual, and private options.”
This data was gathered from all school districts throughout the state in a snapshot performed on October 1, 2020. The agency does not collect numbers of students enrolled in-home or private school.
