Licking Today

There were 2,026 eighth grade students enrolled in Licking County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 4.4% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Licking Heights Middle School welcomed most of the eighth grade students in the county, registering 359 students.

Within Licking County schools, the highest student count was found in fifth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in pre-kindergarten.

Statewide, Licking County ranked 13th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 27,545 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was also ranked 13th the year before.

In 2022, Ohio saw an average student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 1:15, which is an improvement for the state and is lower than the national average of 1:16.

Despite the apparent improvement, this positive trend is overshadowed by a general decline in public school enrollments, which was accelerated by the pandemic. This decline, aligned with the steady number of teachers in the state over the last 10 years, has led to low student-to-teacher ratios.

School name	# of 8th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Licking Heights Middle School	359	47.7	752
Watkins Middle School	336	31.4	1,071
Granville Middle School	224	52.2	429
Licking Valley Middle School	161	33.3	484
Lakewood Middle School	127	33.7	377
Liberty Middle School	122	28.4	429
Heritage Middle School	121	31	390
Johnstown Middle School	120	29.8	403
Heath Middle School	120	32.3	371
Utica Middle School	116	36.3	320
Wilson Middle School	100	28.2	355
Northridge Middle School	94	34.4	273
Newark Digital Academy	26	15.8	165
John Clem Elementary School	0	0	392
Granville Intermediate School	0	0	596
Par Excellence Academy	0	0	181
Watkins Intermediate School	0	0	770
South Elementary School	0	0	774
Watkins Memorial High School	0	0	1,288
Licking Heights High School	0	0	1,368
Granville Elementary School	0	0	664
Northridge High School	0	0	305
Lakewood High School	0	0	432
Johnstown High School	0	0	449
Hebron Elementary School	0	0	423
Newark High School	0	0	1,340
Garfield Elementary School	0	0	357
Granville High School	0	0	776
Licking Valley Elementary School	0	0	954
Jackson Intermediate School	0	0	391
Stevenson Elementary School	0	0	388
Slate Ridge Elementary School	0	0	602
Taylor Road Elementary School	0	0	454
Hillview Elementary School	0	0	486
Carson Elementary School	0	0	395
Newton Elementary School	0	0	355
McGuffey Elementary School	0	0	441
Summit Road Elementary School	0	0	401
Legend Elementary School	0	0	490
Northridge Elementary School	0	0	570
Licking Heights Central Intermediate School	0	0	833
Utica Elementary School	0	0	360
Cherry Valley Elementary School	0	0	388
Ben Franklin Elementary School	0	0	274
Johnstown Elementary School	0	0	504
Etna Elementary School	0	0	509
Licking Valley High School	0	0	562
Kirkersville Elementary School	0	0	480
Pataskala Elementary School	0	0	460
Licking Heights North Elementary School	0	0	370
Utica High School	0	0	407
Heath High School	0	0	471