Public School Enrollment Grows Slightly In 2013
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana public K-12 school enrollment rose this fall to 713,104 students from 707,431 the year before, with numbers generally increasing across the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge metropolitan areas. That's according to figures from the Louisiana Department of Education.
Education Department spokesman Barry Landry tells The Times-Picayune one reason for the increase is that more students are staying in school. Landry says the dropout rate has decreased, which led in 2013 to the state's all-time highest graduation rate of 72 percent.
In greater New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish schools saw the biggest jump from October 2012 to 2013: 6.5 percent, for a total of more than 7,100 students. Jefferson Parish, still the area's largest system overall with more than 47,500 students, posted a 3 percent increase.
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