NW Ohio Times

There were 420 first grade students enrolled in Defiance County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.7% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce.

Defiance Elementary School welcomed most of the first grade students in the county, registering 171 students.

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

Statewide, Defiance County ranked 58th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 5,675 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. It was also ranked 58th 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 1st Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Defiance Elementary School	171	16.1	1,061
Fairview Elementary School	75	18.1	415
Hicksville Elementary School	73	19.7	370
Tinora Elementary School	67	19.4	346
Ayersville Elementary School	34	10.1	338
Defiance Middle School	0	0	558
Defiance High School	0	0	710
Hicksville High School	0	0	206
Hicksville Middle School	0	0	287
Ayersville High School	0	0	308
Fairview High School	0	0	262
Fairview Middle School	0	0	217
Tinora High School	0	0	273
Tinora Middle School	0	0	315