CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) released its annual certified enrollment, and public schools in the state continue the downward slide. The 2026-27 certified count is 226,687 students, down from 234,957 last year.
Each year, the WVDE takes a snapshot of public school enrollment and staffing on a specific day. This information serves as the certified data used by the school system throughout the year.
The loss of 8,270 students in public schools represents a 3.5% decrease in enrollment since last school year. The system has lost more than 23,000 students since the 2022-23 school year, and more than 46,000 students over the past 10 years – a 17% decline.
All 55 counties experienced a decrease in enrollment, along with two of the seven charter schools. Roane County had the steepest decline with a 14.89% reduction, followed by the Virtual Preparatory Academy (10.51%), Mingo County (9.65%), Lewis County (8.1%), Calhoun County (7.74%) and Randolph County (7.19%). Jackson and Pleasants counties experienced lower enrollment decreases with 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively.
The WVDE will release additional certified data over the coming weeks on the wvde.us Zoom data dashboard.
