NC Florida News

There were 9,887 students enrolled in Columbia County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 0.4% less than the previous year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 61.3% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Columbia County schools, followed by 21.4% of Black students, 9.3% of Hispanic students and 6.8% of multiracial students.

Columbia High School registered the highest enrollment among Columbia County's 17 schools in the 2022-23 academic year, welcoming 1,737 students.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in a total of 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

School name	Total Enrollment in 2021-22	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	% Change
Columbia High School	1,738	1,737	-0.1
Fort White High School	1,136	1,158	1.9
Lake City Middle School	995	970	-2.5
Belmont Academy	731	759	3.8
Westside Elementary School	686	696	1.5
Fort White Elementary School	639	681	6.6
Eastside Elementary School	660	631	-4.4
Columbia City Elementary School	589	615	4.4
Summers Elementary School	486	517	6.4
Pinemount Elementary School	464	486	4.7
Richardson Sixth Grade Academy	492	450	-8.5
Five Points Elementary School	405	400	-1.2
Melrose Park Elementary School	363	398	9.6
Niblack Elementary School	287	282	-1.7
Pathways Academy	77	87	13
Columbia Virtual Instruction Program	164	16	-90.2