This year, Powell schools had a whopping 1,893 students registered on the first day of school, continuing a trend of increased enrollment.

It’s the highest student population that Superintendent Jay Curtis has seen since he came to Powell in 2017, he said. While numbers will typically wax and wane in the first days of the school year, PCSD1 had only dropped to 1,882 students by Friday — by Tuesday it had increased to 1,886.

“Overall, in the state, they say that we’ve lost kids statewide, lots of districts dealing with declining enrollment … so Park County is just a pretty desirable place for people to come and live and raise their kids,” Curtis said. 

A small dip in student populations was expected this year due to 135 graduating students last year and 120 kindergartners expected to come into the schools. Elementary schools populations in Powell are high, Curtis said on Friday. There are 317 students at Southside Elementary School, 307 at Westside Elementary School and 213 at Parkside Elementary School. Clark Elementary School has 20 students, but a second teacher had already been added in anticipation of higher than average enrollment at Clark Elementary School. 

“Those are big numbers for our elementaries,” Curtis said.

The upward trend isn’t consistent, however, as Powell Middle School had 396 students enrolled — the smallest population at Powell Middle School since Curtis became superintendent.

“I haven’t seen any changes in our community that would increase our population,” Curtis said. “So I don’t know what’s driving the increase, but it’s two years in a row now that we’ve seen that increase.”

Last year’s first day of school numbers showed a total student population of 1,847, the 2021-2022 academic year had 1,751 students on the first day of school and the 2020 academic year had 1,765 students.

Curtis said the increase in students is a “great problem to have,” kids wanting to attend Powell schools and families wanting to live in Powell is good for the community.

“You will never hear me complain that our enrollment [is up], especially as slow as the growth is, adding 15 to 20 students per year,” Curtis said. “We scramble around a little bit but it’s much easier for us to make those adjustments, figure out the needs, meet those needs than if we were to say, enroll 100 or 200 kids additional overnight … slow, steady growth like this is absolutely the best possible scenario.”

There has been steady growth of approximately 15-20 students each year for the past two years.

At Powell High School, Principal Tim Wormald said the school may have the most enrollments in his time as principal. Wormald said that there is not a clear trend to indicate where the newly enrolled students are coming from, but several were past PCSD1 students who were enrolled in virtual schools or had moved away briefly. Wormald also added that the newly enrolled students are “pretty evenly distributed” across all grades with no visible trends. 

The high school’s population has exceeded the pre-determined maximum enrollment in many classes Wormald said, which may create the need to buy more equipment for elective classes like CAD (Computer Aided Design) to accommodate these students, and keep them in that particular elective.

As of Tuesday, Powell High School’s net gain of students was 35 after some students withdrew. This still puts Powell High’s total population at roughly 590 students — last year the school had between 550-560 students, Wormald said. Shoshone Learning Center similarly has a high enrollment of 25 students and increased staff that was added in anticipation of higher than average students.

“We are truly fortunate and blessed that people want to come and live and work and go to school in Powell, Wyoming,” Curtis said. “I think it’s good for our schools, it’s good for our town and it’s fun to be a part of a thriving community.”