Rockwood Board of Education Hears Demographic Study Presentation

At its June 5 meeting, the Rockwood School District Board of Education received a presentation on data from a recent demographic study of the Rockwood community.

The presentation, prepared by the demographic and enrollment study firm MGT, provided a detailed look at expected trends in population and school-aged enrollment within the Rockwood boundaries over the next 10 years. 

According to the study, the student population for Rockwood is projected to decrease by 7.65 percent over the next five years and 15 percent over the next 10 years. For the 2024-2025 school year, Rockwood had 18,962 students enrolled in grades K-12. MGT predicts that Rockwood will have 17,142 students in the 2029-2030 school year and 15,578 in the 2034-2035 school year. MGT Vice President Lorne Woods shared that the decline is mainly due to birth rates trending downward, which is a trend across the state and the nation.

“We really can use this as an opportunity to level-set in terms of our enrollment and be able to, as we move forward, use this as an ability to reimagine some opportunities for spaces and, most importantly, students in the Rockwood School District,” Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain said before the presentation. “I will flat-out let this Board of Education know that the strongest advice I would have is we not look at closing any comprehensive elementary, middle or high school in the Rockwood School District. We’re not looking at doing any of that at this point in time.”

Dr. Cain provided an example of the sort of change Rockwood may consider as the district continues monitoring these trends: changing the cut score for Gifted services so as to include more students in the program’s offerings.  

“The numbers give us an idea of what is happening. It’s important that we continue to look at the numbers as we move forward as a school district,” he said. “It allows us an opportunity to be open in terms of programs moving, but that doesn’t mean buildings are closing at this point in time. It gives us an opportunity to reimagine and do some things that look different.”

Click here to access a copy of MGT’s presentation to the Board, and watch the portion of the June 5 meeting that included the presentation at this link.