Greenwood Community High School students enter the school on Aug. 1, the first day of classes. Greenwood boasted the highest increase of students in Johnson County.
Daily Journal File Photo
Clark-Pleasant, Center Grove and Greenwood school districts each saw increases in their student populations this year, while other local schools saw a decline in enrollment.
Greenwood Community Schools experienced the highest increase in its Average Daily Membership, or ADM, count at 97 students. Their total is now 4,010, a number, which Greenwood Superintendent Terry Terhune called surprising.
“With nearly 100 more students enrolling, we are very happy that families decided to pick Greenwood Community Schools as the choice for their children’s education,” Terhune said. “This is the highest our ADM count has ever been.”
Greenwood’s student population typically has leveled off or even slightly declined over the last four or five years, he said.
The ADM count is done every semester at schools in Indiana and determines each school district’s per-pupil funding.
Center Grove schools notched the second-highest student increase in the county, garnering an increase of 62 students from last year. This elevates their enrollment number to 9,496.
Assistant Superintendent Jason Taylor accredited the attractiveness of the schools and the diversity of the programs they offer to the district’s growth.
“Most of the students were secondary-aged students, that’s where we saw our growth this year,” Taylor said. “It was outpacing some of our elementary growth. The schools are quite large and they offer a lot of diverse curriculum. They can offer a lot more options to students.”
Center Grove has grown across the board over the last five years, a reflection of housing growth in White River Township, he said.
Clark-Pleasant School District’s ADM count is now at 6,852 students, which is an increase of 32 students compared to last year’s count, Superintendent Timothy Edsell said.
Edsell said the growing local community and expanding housing market played a major factor in the income of new students.
“In the past 10 years, the historical trend for enrollment and attendance in Clark-Pleasant Schools has been going in an upward direction,” Edsell said. “We believe it is continuing to do that because of the housing residential market growth. The subdivisions continue to be developed within our corporation. There is a lot of opportunity for that growth and development with (an) economic focus. We also strive very hard to provide great academics, great fine arts and great athletics for our students to experience from a K-12 level.”
Although three county school districts saw marked increases in their ADM counts, the same amount of districts witnessed decreases.
Edinburgh Schools has seen a steady student population decrease over the last 10 years. In 2023, they recorded 790 total students as compared to 820 in 2018 and 877 in 2013.
“The decline in enrollment is what has necessitated the need for the operating referendum,” Superintendent Ron Ross said. “We are excited for the 800 to 1,000 new homes being built in Edinburgh in the coming years. We have a fantastic school system with caring adults in a wonderful community. We just lack housing to bring in new students. Hopefully, the new homes will be just what we need to bring more students to Edinburgh Community School Corporation.”
Franklin Community Schools has also seen a decrease in student population. 2023 brought in a total of 4,821 students which is down from last year’s count of 4,966.
Indian Creek Schools’ count also decreased. Their number currently is 2,035, which is up from five years ago, but lower than last year’s number which was 2,073 in September of 2022 and 2,064 in February.
