“Sturgeon Bay only school system showing enrollment increase” from the September 14, 1978 Door County Advocate
Sturgeon Bay only school system showing enrollment increase
With three of the four major school systems reporting decreases in enrollments this year the overall Door county preliminary school enrollment has hit the lowest point in a decade. The total for 1978 is 4,942 compared with 5,296 recorded in the peak year of 1968. This year’s figure is down 112 from the enrollment of 5,054 last fall.
Sturgeon Bay is the only system to report an increase in enrollment. Early figures show 1,421 enrolled in the Sturgeon Bay schools and special education programs compared with 1,397 in 1977. Rural parochial schools SS. Peter and Paul, Institute, and Zion Lutheran school, West Jacksonport, are the only other schools to show an increase. Peter and Paul has 136 enrolled this fall, up 8 from the 128 last September. Zion is up 1 from 41 to 42 students this year.
Of major systems Southern Door dropped from 1,628 to 1,593, a cut of 35 students; Gibraltar is down 26 from 716 last year to 690 this fall and Sevastopol dropped 23 students from 732 in ’77 to 709 this fall.
The breakdown for each school follows:
STURGEON BAY
The elementary grades, kindergarten through fifth, show a significant increase of 46 with a ’78 preliminary total of 580 students. There is just one less in the junior high this fall with 293 compared with 294 in ’77. There were 569 in the high school (including grade nine) last year and only 535 this fall, down 33. This is the second year the high school has had a drop in enrollment. In addition there are 12 Sturgeon Bay students enrolled in special classes.
By grades: K, 131; 1, 90; 2, 92; 3, 88; 4, 86; 5, 93; 6, 75; 7, 96; 8, 122; 9, 121; 10, 127; 11, 153; 12, 135.
SOUTHERN DOOR
Southern Door has dropped its enrollment for the third consecutive year after four years of successive growth. The preliminary total for this year is 1,593. The high school, however, is up from 539 to 563. Part of the drop in the elementary level is because 22 Southern Door students are enrolled at the Regional Learning Center or other special education programs.
By grades: K, 111; 1, 84; 2, 94; 3, 121; 4, 123; 5, 105; 6, 132; 7, 134; 8, 114; 9, 155; 10, 150; 11, 137; 12, 121.
SEVASTOPOL
Sevastopol was the only major system to show an increase last year but this year dropped from 732 to 709. The high school enrollment remained at 317 for two years. In recent years Sevastopol’s elementary enrollment has been affected by the opening of Zion Lutheran school. The K-8 enrollment this fall is 392.
By grades: K, 47; 1, 46; 2, 42; 3, 31; 4, 46; 5, 40; 6, 44; 7, 36; 8, 60; 9, 86; 10, 79; 11, 65; 12, 87.
GIBRALTAR
Gibraltar continues a two year drop off in enrollment. This year there are 690 compared with 716 students in ’77 and 745 in ’76. The decrease this year is in the high school where there are 24 less students, the elementary grades with 414 are up two over last year after a loss of 41 in 1977.
By grades: K, 50; 1, 44; 2, 37; 3, 45; 4, 48; 5, 40; 6, 48; 7, 42; 8, 60; 9, 49; 10, 70; 11, 69; 12, 88.
PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
As mentioned earlier SS. Peter and Paul and Zion Lutheran schools show enrollment increases. Corpus Christi dropped from 110 to 105 and St. Joseph is down from 175 to 169. The three Catholic schools cover grades one through eight.
School enrollments follow:
Zion: K, 6; 1, 3; 2, 3; 3, 3; 4, 3; 5, 5; 6, 7; 7, 7; 8, 5.
SS. Peter and Paul: 1, 19; 2, 15; 3, 14; 4, 15; 5, 16; 6, 22; 7, 17; 8, 17.
St. Joseph: 1, 18; 2, 24; 3, 29; 4, 25; 5, 18; 6, 21; 7, 22; 8, 12.
Corpus Christi: 1, 13; 2, 6; 3, 14; 4,18; 5, 14; 6, 13; 7, 10; 8, 17.
WASHINGTON ISLAND
For the third year the Washington Island enrollment is under 100 students reaching a low of 77 compared with 104 in 1975. There were 84 enrolled in grades 1 through 12 last year.
By grades: 1, 6; 2, 3; 3, 12; 4, 4; 5, 3; 6, 4; 7, 9; 8, 7; 9, 7; 10, 10; 11, 5; 12, 6.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[More recent figures:
How many students were enrolled in Door County school districts in 2022-23 school year?
https://newisconsinnews.com/stories/656686752-how-many-students-were-enrolled-in-door-county-school-districts-in-2022-23-school-year
Door County Education: 325 Hispanic students were enrolled in schools in 2023-24 school year
https://newisconsinnews.com/stories/664782827-door-county-education-325-hispanic-students-were-enrolled-in-schools-in-2023-24-school-year
Detailed statistics through 2022-2023 are available from https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/noah.diekemper5687/viz/SpendDashboard_020123/HOME, under the dropdown menu selections for the individual districts.
2024-2025 statistics are not yet available: https://wisedash.dpi.wi.gov/Dashboard/dashboard/18110 ]
Education-related articles
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/education-related
Articles about demographics
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/demographics