Public school enrollment in Oklahoma has topped 700,000 for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tulsa World’s analysis of newly released state data shows that public schools’ rolls grew by nearly 2,600 students in the past 12 months, up to 701,258 total.
In October 2020, Oklahoma’s public school enrollment registered its first downturn in nearly two decades because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 694,113 students total. The latest enrollment figures are still shy of the state’s prepandemic high of 703,650 students.
The biggest hits to enrollment from the pandemic were seen in pre-K and kindergarten, and those two grade levels have not come close to rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, according to the annual Oct. 1 student count. Currently, the state has 87,831 pre-kindergartners and kindergartners in public schools, compared to 94,610 in fall 2019.
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One standout trend is a 15% decline in charter school enrollment since last year, from 59,755 to 50,716 students, which closely mirrors the significant downturn in students at a newly consolidated Epic Charter School.
For the second year in a row, Tulsa Public Schools is Oklahoma’s largest school district, up 2% year-over-year to 33,871 students.
"We are proud to be Oklahoma's largest school district, and we remain deeply committed to serving, supporting and celebrating every child and every family in the city of Tulsa," said a TPS representative Wednesday afternoon.
Oklahoma City Public Schools came in second, but that district saw a one-year increase of 3.6% to 33,245 total.
Third-largest Epic has 28,478 students, representing a one-year decline of nearly 10,000 students from the 38,334 total enrolled at the formerly separate Epic One-on-One and Epic Blended Learning Centers on Oct. 1, 2021.
This year's student count at Epic represents a 53% decline since the height of the pandemic, when Epic enrolled nearly 61,000 students.
Asked about the trend, Shawna Salkil, deputy superintendent of operations, said school officials think Epic's enrollment has simply returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Another statewide virtual charter school, Insight School of Oklahoma, picked up about 150 new students, an 18% increase, going from 803 last year to 949 this fall.
Charter schools are publicly funded schools of choice governed by independent, non-elected boards. In all, charter school enrollment represents 7.2% of all public school students in Oklahoma, compared to 8.6% in the fall of 2021.
Outgoing State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said the ongoing recovery of students since the pandemic struck in March 2020 is proof that “Oklahoma families recognize the value of their local public schools, and with good reason."
“Our public schools are consistently implementing the Ready Together Oklahoma plan and other strategies to help students succeed in the wake of challenges spurred by the global pandemic," Hofmeister said. "As enrollment steadily increases, it is important that the state Legislature ensure our educators are well-prepared to provide a high-quality education.”
Spreadsheets with state, district and site totals are available at sde.ok.gov/documents/state-student-public-enrollment.
Tulsa trends
Tulsa Honor Academy, a Tulsa Public Schools-sponsored charter school, had the largest enrollment percentage increase in the area for a second year in a row, with enrollment climbing by 32.3% from 2021 to 2022. The next-fastest growing Tulsa school is TPS-sponsored Collegiate Hall, where enrollment is up 11.4%.
Tulsa Public Schools now has 660 more students than a year ago.
Seven of the district’s nine traditional high schools had higher student counts than the previous year; McLain leads the pack with 93 additional students. The two exceptions were Booker T. Washington and Webster, whose enrollments declined by 22 and seven students, respectively.
Excluding the elementary and middle school campuses in the East Central and Hale feeder patterns, which moved sixth grade from elementary to middle school level this school year, 25 TPS sites reported an enrollment increase of 25 or more students than they had on Oct. 1, 2021.
They are Burroughs, Celia Clinton, Council Oak, Felicitas Mendez at Ralph J. Bunche, Eliot, Eugene Field, Grissom, Lanier, Mayo Demonstration, Patrick Henry, Salk and Wayman Tisdale elementary schools; Carver, Central, Edison, Memorial and Webster middle schools; Central, East Central, Hale, Memorial and McLain high schools; and the placement-based alternative sites Project Accept TRAICE Elementary School, TRAICE Academy Middle School and TRAICE Academy High School.
Schools outside the East Central and Hale feeder patterns reporting a year over year enrollment decline of 25 students or more include Greenwood Leadership Academy, Thoreau Demonstration Academy, Monroe Demonstration Academy and McClure Elementary School. Part of the Memorial feeder pattern, McClure's grade configuration changed after the 2021-22 student count data was published.
Among Tulsa-area charter schools, only two reported a decline in enrollment from 2021-22: College Bound Academy and Sankofa Middle School.
A prekindergarten through fourth grade campus authorized by TPS, College Bound Academy's enrollment dropped by 11 students, or 2.4%.
Authorized by Langston University, Sankofa Middle School's enrollment has declined 22.2% since fall 2021.
Three other Tulsa charter schools — Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, Deborah Brown Community School and Dove Schools of Tulsa — saw modest enrollment gains of 10 or fewer students.
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On a veritable laundry list of state government scandals in 2022 was our work on a little-covered but high-dollar state agency known as the Commissioners of the Land Office. This story, on allegations of self-dealing and misappropriation of taxpayer funds being silenced within the agency staff, was followed quickly by the resignation of CLO Secretary Elliot Chambers.
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