The number of students enrolled in Oklahoma public schools increased by more than 4,000 in 2015, continuing an annual upward trend.
A total of 692,670 students were enrolled in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade at the start of the school year, an increase of 4,370 over the 2014 total of 688,300 and 33,055 more than in 2010.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister emphasized that the state should be prepared to continue serving a growing student population each year.
“Once again, Oklahoma schools are educating more students than ever,” Hofmeister said. “While it’s not a surprise, it is important to remember that statewide enrollment increases every year. Given the current fiscal reality and the teacher shortage crisis, many schools started 2015 ready to add additional students to their rosters with few new resources. We need to plan for this trend to continue in the future and do everything we can to minimize the negative impact on students.”
Districts record enrollment every year on Oct. 1 and report the figures to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Currently, Oklahoma has 516 public school districts and 1,795 school sites, including 14 charter schools not sponsored by a district.
The list of the 10 largest districts is identical to last year’s, although some changed position within the ranking. This year’s 10 largest districts are:
- Oklahoma City Public Schools: 45,577 students
- Tulsa Public Schools: 40,867
- Edmond Public Schools: 23,994
- Moore Public Schools: 23,890
- Putnam City Schools: 19,365
- Broken Arrow Public Schools: 18,868
- Norman Public Schools: 16,046
- Union Public Schools: 16,006
- Lawton Public Schools: 14,978
- Mid-Del Schools: 14,574
Among those districts, Broken Arrow had the greatest year-to-year growth, increasing 2.57 percent over 2014, followed by Edmond, Norman, Moore, Union and Oklahoma City with an increase of .62 percent. Enrollment decreased in Lawton, Mid-Del, Tulsa and Putnam City.
Statewide, student population percentages shifted slightly this year. Most significantly, the percentage of white and Native American students decreased, while the percentage of Hispanic students and students of two or more ethnicities increased. This school year, Oklahoma’s student population is*:
- 50 percent white
- 16.21 percent Hispanic
- 14.28 percent Native American or Alaskan Native
- 8.87 percent black
- 8.38 percent two or more races
- 2.25 percent Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
*Numbers are rounded and may not add up to 100.
Spreadsheets with state, district and site totals are available here.
