Lima Reporter

There were 583 first grade students enrolled in Mercer County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 12.1% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Celina Primary School welcomed most of the first grade students in the county, registering 170 students.

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

Statewide, Mercer County ranked 44th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 7,585 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was also ranked 44th 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 1st Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Celina Primary School	170	32	531
Coldwater Elementary School	119	18.8	634
Marion Local Elementary School	88	13.1	674
St. Henry Elementary School	71	15.1	470
Fort Recovery Elementary School	71	13.8	513
Parkway Elementary School	64	15.8	404
Fort Recovery High School	0	0	269
Fort Recovery Middle School	0	0	187
St. Henry High School	0	0	257
St. Henry Middle School	0	0	287
Parkway High School	0	0	268
Parkway Middle School	0	0	294
Marion Local High School	0	0	235
Coldwater Middle School	0	0	424
Coldwater High School	0	0	331
Celina Intermediate Elementary School	0	0	343
Celina Elementary School	0	0	348
Celina High School	0	0	728
Celina Middle School	0	0	370