Lima Reporter

There were 1,171 kindergarten students enrolled in Allen County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 9% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Elida Elementary School and Elmwood Elementary School welcomed most of the kindergarten students in the county, registering 176 students each.

Within Allen County schools, the highest student count was found in kindergarten, with the smallest class sizes seen in pre-kindergarten.

Statewide, Allen County ranked 26th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 13,500 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was ranked 27th the year before.

In 2022, Ohio saw an average student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 1:15, which is an improvement for the state and is lower than the national average of 1:16.

Despite the apparent improvement, this positive trend is overshadowed by a general decline in public school enrollments, which was accelerated by the pandemic. This decline, aligned with the steady number of teachers in the state over the last 10 years, has led to low student-to-teacher ratios.

School name	# of Kindergarten Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Elida Elementary School	176	17.2	1,021
Elmwood Elementary School	176	34	518
Bath Elementary School	121	15.9	762
Allen East Elementary School	100	21.3	470
Bluffton Elementary School	90	16.5	547
Spencerville Elementary School	81	22.3	364
Heritage Elementary School	78	18.2	428
Franklin Elementary School	76	22.4	340
Perry Elementary School	55	13.7	402
Independence Elementary School	53	18.9	280
Unity Elementary School	44	21.1	209
Liberty Arts Magnet K-8	42	11.5	364
Freedom Elementary School	39	16.2	241
Heir Force Community School	23	10.3	223
Lima South Science-Technology Magnet K-8	17	10.2	166
Bath Middle School	0	0	405
Elida Middle School	0	0	468
Elida High School	0	0	508
Lima North Middle School	0	0	329
Lima Senior High School	0	0	964
Lima West Middle School	0	0	325
Perry High School	0	0	267
Bluffton High School	0	0	319
Bluffton Middle School	0	0	268
Allen East High School	0	0	246
Allen East Middle School	0	0	335
Shawnee Middle School	0	0	711
Bath High School	0	0	401
West Central Learning Academy II	0	0	38
Spencerville Middle School	0	0	291
Spencerville High School	0	0	296
Shawnee High School	0	0	601
Maplewood Elementary School	0	0	361