District increases by 115 students
Virtual School sees biggest enrollment jump in Lawrence
Enrollment numbers
Elementary Enrollment
School 2008 2009
Broken Arrow 289 272
Cordley 259 315
Deerfield 511 502
Hillcrest 348 329
Kennedy 337 336
L. Hughes 482 510
New York 133 135
Pinckney 246 275
Prairie Park 406 427
Quail Run 473 473
Schwegler 382 385
Sunflower 482 482
Sunset Hill 300 292
Wak. Valley 218 214
Woodlawn 222 240
Virtual School 733 833
Total 5,821 6,020
Junior High Enrollment
School 2008 2009
Central 447 429
South 555 570
Southwest 680 664
West 573 575
Virtual School 203 246
Total 2,458 2,484
High School Enrollment
School 2008 2009
Free State 1,137 1,066
Lawrence High 1,286 1,247
Total 2,423 2,313
Total Enrollment
2008: 10,702
2009: 10,817
The official enrollment came as no surprise to Lawrence public school district officials.
The district has 115 more students than last year, with a total enrollment of 10,817 students. The largest jump in enrollment was at the Lawrence Virtual School, which added nearly 150 new students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“The elementary level is where we made our gains,” Superintendent Rick Doll said. “From a growth standpoint, it’s better to be up at the elementary level than at secondary because those kids, hopefully, will stay with us and then go on through the system.”
The secondary level is down about 100 students, mainly because the high school program at the Lawrence Virtual School was discontinued for the 2009-2010 school year.
“We stopped the virtual high school, pulled about 90 to 100 kids out,” Doll said. “Then you look at the secondary numbers and they look about flat.”
Another reason for the lack of large increases is the economy.
“People just aren’t moving,” Doll said. “They’re hunkered down right now because the economy’s down.”
He said that once the economy turns around, Lawrence could return to the days of school enrollment increases.
“I think that Lawrence public schools continue to be an excellent, excellent draw for the community,” he said. “I think people want to move to Lawrence for many reasons, one of them being an outstanding school system.”
The official state enrollment count is usually on Sept. 20, but because that date fell on a Sunday this year, it was moved to Monday.