Lima Reporter

There were 673 kindergarten students enrolled in Mercer County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 14.1% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Celina Primary School welcomed most of the kindergarten students in the county, registering 188 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 Kindergarten Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Celina Primary School	188	35.4	531
Coldwater Elementary School	140	22.1	634
St. Henry Elementary School	96	20.4	470
Fort Recovery Elementary School	85	16.6	513
Marion Local Elementary School	85	12.6	674
Parkway Elementary School	79	19.6	404
Celina Middle School	0	0	370
Celina High School	0	0	728
Celina Elementary School	0	0	348
Celina Intermediate Elementary School	0	0	343
Coldwater High School	0	0	331
Coldwater Middle School	0	0	424
Marion Local High School	0	0	235
Parkway Middle School	0	0	294
Parkway High School	0	0	268
St. Henry Middle School	0	0	287
St. Henry High School	0	0	257
Fort Recovery Middle School	0	0	187
Fort Recovery High School	0	0	269