Woodlawn Gives Report to Public

WOODLAWN - The Woodlawn School District presented its annual Report to the Public before its regular monthly school board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock, Woodlawn High School Principal T.J. Hill and Woodlawn Elementary Principal Zach Meyer each gave presentations.Overall, enrollment for the Woodlawn School District was at 542 students with 288 students in the elementary (kindergarten through 6th grade) and 254 in high school (7th through 12thgrade). Hancock noted that the the district has averaged about 550 students over the past few years, and he attributed some of the decline to families choosing to homeschool their children.Both the elementary and high schools have 20 certified staff members each with an average class size of 17 in the elementary and 13 in the high school. Teachers in the elementary have an average of 13.7 years of experience while those in the high school have 12.7 years.Hancock noted that the district was able to provide free lunches in addition to free breakfast this year thanks to the federallyfunded Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. Woodlawn High School Hill said Woodlawn High School added four new staff members this year: football coach/junior high science Doug Means; girls basketball coach/ pre-ED Autumn Lem; special education teacher Hope Wells ; and assistant principal/district test coordinator Ethan Bumpass.As for enrollment, Hill said the high school saw a decline from 270 students last year to 256 this year. Much of that loss could be attributed to a 2025 graduation class of 50 students being replaced with an incoming 7thgrade class of 37. He reported that the high school received a "C" on its latest School Report Card issued by the state, noting that they had appealed the grade based on the data used to determine it. In particular, Hill said the high school's 98 percent graduation rate for the Class of 202...