Penobscot County schools welcomed 19,234 students in the 2023-24 school year, 1.5% less than the previous year, according to the Maine Department of Education.
Penobscot County had the third most enrollment numbers in the state.
According to the data, 51.6% of the students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year were boys, and 48.4% were girls.
Most of the students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year were white, representing 88.3% of the Penobscot County student body.
Within the county, Bangor High School had the highest enrollment in the school year, welcoming 1,037 students.
While Maine’s public school enrollment has slightly rebounded from the sharp drop during the 2020-21 school year, it remains about 4% below pre-pandemic levels. The decline is partly due to an increase in homeschooling and more students completing high school early through college courses and adult education.
“Adult education enrollment is up, providing high school completion and job training programs to meet individual needs,” said a spokesman for the Maine Department of Education in an interview with Maine Public. Additionally, some pandemic-related factors persist, with “some parents choosing not to enroll younger children in school and older students who took on jobs to support their families during the pandemic and who are still counted on to provide that support.”
As of 2024, the average student-to-teacher ratio in public schools in Maine is 11:1, much lower than the national average of one teacher for every 15 students.
| School Name | Total Enrollment in 2022-23 | Total Enrollment in 2023-24 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abraham Lincoln School | 164 | 183 | 11.6% |
| Alton Elementary School | 81 | 57 | -29.6% |
| Asa C. Adams School | 306 | 321 | 4.9% |
| Bangor High School | 1,071 | 1,037 | -3.2% |
| Brewer Community School | 884 | 864 | -2.3% |
| Brewer High School | 715 | 678 | -5.2% |
| Caravel Middle School | 198 | 213 | 7.6% |
| Carmel Elementary School | 166 | 157 | -5.4% |
| Center Drive School | 366 | 351 | -4.1% |
| Central Community Elementary School | 502 | 483 | -3.8% |
| Central High School | 304 | 300 | -1.3% |
| Central Middle School | 232 | 222 | -4.3% |
| Dexter Regional High School | 253 | 263 | 4% |
| Downeast School | 307 | 295 | -3.9% |
| Dr. Lewis S. Libby School | 279 | 275 | -1.4% |
| Earl C. McGraw School | 291 | 286 | -1.7% |
| Eddington School | 135 | 123 | -8.9% |
| Ella P. Burr School | 308 | 330 | 7.1% |
| Enfield Station Elementary School | 216 | 203 | -6% |
| Etna-Dixmont School | 188 | 186 | -1.1% |
| Fairmount School | 241 | 245 | 1.7% |
| Fourteenth Street School | 160 | 155 | -3.1% |
| Fruit Street School | 333 | 322 | -3.3% |
| George B. Weatherbee School | 288 | 268 | -6.9% |
| Glenburn Elementary School | 387 | 388 | 0.3% |
| Granite Street School | 217 | 202 | -6.9% |
| Hampden Academy | 781 | 736 | -5.8% |
| Helen S. Dunn Elementary School | 144 | 138 | -4.2% |
| Hermon High School | 555 | 542 | -2.3% |
| Hermon Middle School | 321 | 316 | -1.6% |
| Hichborn Middle School | 88 | 95 | 8% |
| Holbrook School | 189 | 170 | -10.1% |
| Holden School | 126 | 143 | 13.5% |
| James F. Doughty School | 363 | 343 | -5.5% |
| Katahdin Elementary School | 147 | 132 | -10.2% |
| Katahdin Middle/High School | 144 | 131 | -9% |
| Kingman Elementary School | 14 | 15 | 7.1% |
| Lee/Winn School | 94 | 84 | -10.6% |
| Leonard Middle School | 302 | 281 | -7% |
| Mary Snow School | 231 | 255 | 10.4% |
| Mattanawcook Academy | 285 | 277 | -2.8% |
| Mattanawcook Junior High School | 318 | 322 | 1.3% |
| Medway Middle School | 110 | 117 | 6.4% |
| Mt. Jefferson Junior High School | 75 | 74 | -1.3% |
| Newburgh Elementary School | 49 | 51 | 4.1% |
| Nokomis Regional High School | 622 | 602 | -3.2% |
| Nokomis Regional Middle School | 541 | 512 | -5.4% |
| Old Town Elementary School | 419 | 470 | 12.2% |
| Old Town High School | 520 | 518 | -0.4% |
| Opal Myrick Elementary School | 145 | 138 | -4.8% |
| Orono High School | 373 | 360 | -3.5% |
| Orono Middle School | 146 | 142 | -2.7% |
| Patricia A. Duran School | 477 | 458 | -4% |
| Penobscot Valley High School | 125 | 122 | -2.4% |
| Reeds Brook Middle School | 338 | 336 | -0.6% |
| Ridge View Community School | 587 | 546 | -7% |
| Schenck High School | 93 | 101 | 8.6% |
| Sebasticook Valley Elementary School | 330 | 336 | 1.8% |
| Stearns Junior-Senior High School | 212 | 226 | 6.6% |
| Suzanne M. Smith Elementary School | 214 | 216 | 0.9% |
| Veazie Community School | 165 | 157 | -4.8% |
| Vine Street School | 191 | 190 | -0.5% |
| William S. Cohen School | 364 | 366 | 0.5% |
| John Bapst Memorial High School | 422 | 447 | 5.9% |
| Lee Academy | 112 | 112 | 0% |
| Indian Island School | 83 | 90 | 8.4% |
| Indian Township School | 124 | 124 | 0% |
| — | 36 | — |