district-spotlight
Rock Springs: The Canary in the Gas Mine
Sweetwater #1 has lost 22.1% of enrollment since its 2016 peak of 5,749 students, the steepest decline among Wyoming's mid-size and large districts.
Wyoming
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Wyoming, grounded in Wyoming Department of Education data.
K-8 Enrollment Is Falling While High School Still Holds Up
Wyoming's K-8 enrollment has fallen 12.4% since the 2016 peak, while high school actually grew 4%. The divergence is temporary — small K classes will reach HS by 2032.
Upton's Oil Boom: A Tiny District Quadrupled in Three Years
Weston County School District #7 went from 222 students to 902 in three years, driven by Powder River Basin oil activity. The boom has already started to recede.
The Energy Divide: Coal and Gas Counties Losing Students Three Times Faster
Wyoming's energy-producing counties have lost 14.9% of their enrollment since 2016, nearly three times the rate of non-energy districts.
Peak Was 2016, Not 2020: Wyoming's Decline Predates COVID by Four Years
Wyoming's enrollment peaked at 94,002 in 2016, driven by the energy boom. The state was already losing students before the pandemic arrived.
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covid-impact
Only 6 of 48 Districts Have Recovered from COVID
Wyoming was among the first states to reopen schools, yet only 6 of 48 districts have returned to pre-COVID enrollment. The post-pandemic decline has been 2.7 times larger than the initial COVID drop.
district-spotlight
Casper's Enrollment Decline Has Accelerated for Three Straight Years
Natrona County School District #1 lost 443 students in 2025-26, capping three straight years of accelerating decline that has erased 25 years of growth.
grade-shift
Wyoming Now Has More Seniors Than Kindergartners for the Third Year Running
Wyoming enrolled 6,064 kindergartners in 2025-26 — 25 percent below the 2014 peak — while Grade 12 sits near an all-time high. The grade pipeline tells the next decade's story.
district-spotlight
Cheyenne's 8-School Closure Plan: The Largest District Hits the Wall
Laramie County School District #1, Wyoming's largest, has lost 1,402 students since 2020 and plans to close 8 elementary schools through 2035. Parents have sued to stop it.
enrollment
One-Third of Wyoming Districts Hit All-Time Lows in 2026
Seventeen of Wyoming's 51 districts — 33 percent — are at their lowest enrollment in the 26-year data record, and the two largest are within striking distance.
district-spotlight
One Student: Glendo High School and Wyoming's Vanishing Rural Schools
Glendo High School enrolled one student in 2025-26. One of 19 Wyoming schools with fewer than 10, part of a rural system in the least populated state.
enrollment
Wyoming's Worst Year: 2026 Decline Shatters 26-Year Record
Wyoming lost 2,483 students in 2025-26, the largest single-year decline in the state's 26-year enrollment record, surpassing even the COVID drop.
enrollment
Wyoming Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
WDE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing Wyoming lost 2,483 students, the largest single-year decline in 26 years of records.