Like economy, high school enrollment in SWVA dwindles

IDV Project
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RICHLANDS, Va., -The coal industry is not the only thing in southwest Virginia that is declining. The public high school enrollment in the region has also decreased in recent years. Across the country, school enrollments are on the rise. However, in the past seven years, not only have the school systems in southwest Virginia seen a decrease in the number of students, but also in the total number of schools. Dickenson and Wise Counties have consolidated high schools in their region in the past seven years to meet the curve that the dwindling enrollment creates. Citizens of southwest Virginia take pride in telling you where they went to high school. Many of these people have seen the places they take pride in shut their doors. With the continuing decrease in numbers across the region, the idea of each county eventually being the host of one high school is not unlikely. These same Virginia counties have seen a loss in coal mining jobs in recent years. Other than coal in this area, the economy is not very diversified. Due to a lack of economy in the region, many aspects of life suffer, including the number of people that inhabit a region, which results in fewer children in a school system. In an election year, these ideas are addressed more than they are at other times. With the recent presidential election, this graph comes at an interesting time. The information in the graph above was obtained from Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Scott, Tazewell and Wise County Public Schools.