Lamar 3rd Graders, SSHS Juniors Have Highest Grade Level Percentages Of Virtual Academy Enrollment
Enrollment was down slightly at Sulphur Springs ISD for the 2020-21 school year, with 4,380 students enrolled at SSISD, attending either face-to-face classes on the district’s 8 campuses or Virtual Academy as of the second week of classes, Sulphur Springs Superintendent Michael Lamb reported this week. That’s 40 fewer students attending this year than during the same time period in 2019.
There are 26 fewer students enrolled at Douglass Early Childhood Learning Center; the next biggest change was in the size of the Lamar kindergarten class, according to information provided by Lamb at the Sept. 14 SSISD Board of Trustees meeting.
There are 277 kindergarten students, 321 first graders, 315 second graders and 376 third graders enrolled at the four primary campuses. Of the 1,290 students enrolled at primary campuses, 312 are assigned to Bowie, 335 to Bush, 352 to Lamar and 290 to Travis.
This year, 883 students district-wide enrolled in the Virtual Academy. That’s almost 20 percent of all SSISD students opting for online learning offered due to COVID-19.
Lamar has the highest campus percentage of VA students; 31 percent (109 of the campus’ 352 students) are enrolled in VA. That’s due largely to the fact that 54 percent of the Lamar Primary third grade class is enrolled in Virtual Academy, the largest percent for a single grade level district-wide. That’s 79 out of 147 third graders enrolled at Lamar who are attending VA classes.
Juniors account for the next largest grade level of VA students; 75 of SSISD 11th graders (31 percent) are enrolled in VA. Campus-wide, 260 of the 1,271 students (20 percent) enrolled at Sulphur Springs High School opted for VA learning this year. Only 16 percent of freshmen, 22 percent of sophomores and 21 percent of seniors are enrolled in VA. The smallest grade level of VA students at high school is ninth grade, where only 53 of 335 students (16 percent) are in VA. Only 22 percent (71 of the 322 students) of 10th graders signed up for VA. Twenty-one percent of the senior class signed up for VA, that’s 61 of the 296 students in the 12th grade class attending VA.
Overall, Douglass had 198 students, including 19 percent enrolled in virtual academy. That’s 26 percent of early childhood special education students, 13 percent of Head Start 3, 19 percent of Head Start 4 and 26 percent of prekindergarten students at Douglass are enrolled in VA.
Eighteen percent (56 of 312 students) of Bowie Primary students are enrolled in VA. By grade level, 16 percent of kindergarten students, 15 percent of first graders, 20 percent of second graders and 21 percent of third graders are enrolled in VA.
Barbara Bush Primary also has an 18 percent (59 of 336 students) VA enrollment: 12 percent of kindergarteners, 18 percent of first graders, 22 percent of second graders nad 18 percent of third graders.
Travis Primary’s VA enrollment is 21 percent: 23 percent of kindergarteners, 20 percent of first graders, 22 percent of second graders and 19 percent of third graders.
Sulphur Springs Elementary has 612 students, including 107 VA learners (17 percent.) Overall, that’s 52 of the 304 fourth graders (17 percent) and 55 of the 308 fifth graders (18 percent) at SSES who attend VA.
Sulphur Springs Middle School has 1,009 students this year, including 193 VA students (19 percent). Of the 318 sixth graders, 57 (18 percent) attend VA. Nineteen percent (69 students) of all seventh graders attend VA. At SSMS, 21 percent (67 or 326 students) of eighth graders are VA learners.
