Wyoming Public Schools Saw Increase Of 54 Students This Fall

This story first appeared on Cowboy State Daily

By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

Wyoming’s public education system saw an overall enrollment increase of 54 students this fall, according to data released by the Wyoming Department of Education.

As of fall 2021, the state had 91,992 students enrolled across its 48 school districts, a slight increase from the 91,938 enrolled in public schools last fall.

WDE numbers do not include students who are home-schooled or are enrolled in private school.

The data showed a significant decline in enrollment for virtual classes at the state’s two largest school districts — Laramie County School District No. 1 in Cheyenne and Natrona County School District No. 1 in Casper — which indicates students returned to their local school districts this fall to resume in-person instruction.

There also was a 5% to 10% drop in enrollment at three of the school districts on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Cheyenne schools saw an increase in enrollment of nearly 200 students, keeping Laramie County School District No. 1 the largest in the state with a little more than 14,000 students.

The smallest school district in Wyoming was Park County School District No. 16 in Meeteetse, with 89 students, an increase of three from last fall.

The highest number of students enrolled in the last decade was in fall 2015, when more than 94,000 students enrolled in public schools.

Wyoming has not had more than 100,000 students enrolled in its public schools since the 1990s, according the WDE historical data.

The lowest number of enrolled students in the last 20 years was in fall 2005, 83,705 students were enrolled in the state’s public schools.

The Wyoming Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment on the numbers.

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