Jackson Public Schools administrators told the board that month‑1 enrollment for the 2025–26 school year shows a modest decline from the prior year while some grade levels and programs registered growth.

"We have a 3.4% decrease compared to last year," Dr. Strong said as she presented the month‑1 snapshot and walked trustees through network and grade‑level trends. She also reported that pre‑K enrollment grew and that the district’s Hispanic and Asian student populations rose compared with the prior year.

The report, presented at the board’s regular meeting, broke enrollment into elementary, middle and high‑school networks. Elementary networks were down about 1% overall; the middle school network experienced an approximate 7% decline with two schools meeting projections (Kirksey and Northwest); the high‑school network showed about a 5% increase, with four of six schools meeting projected counts.

Dr. Strong said the district identified roughly 1,571 ninth‑graders, including about 236 new ninth‑grade students, and she attributed the middle‑school declines largely to student transfers. "We had more seventh graders transfer out of the district this year," she said, pointing to movement to charter schools and neighboring districts.

The presentation included specific transfer data: 445 students were recorded as transferring to charter schools this year, while Rankin, Hinds and Madison counties were the top in‑state destinations for students leaving the district. The district also reported out‑of‑state transfers concentrated in Texas, Georgia and Louisiana.

Officials credited a partnership with Kaiser K12 for helping to locate and recruit students who did not show up at the start of the school year. Dr. Strong said Kaiser located 85 students and recruited 57 back to Jackson Public Schools; the district’s summary said those efforts produced a combined funding impact described in the presentation as "over $1,000,000." "This partnership has strengthened our efforts to reduce no‑shows by targeting outreach and family engagement," she said.

Trustees and administrators framed the enrollment changes as mixed but with promising trends. Board members applauded pre‑K growth and the district’s outcomes from pilot tutoring work and said they want to sustain gains. "We are beginning to level off," one trustee said, urging continued focus on retention and expansion of early‑childhood slots.

Next steps noted in the presentation included continued monitoring of transfers, weekly feedback loops with partners, and targeted strategies to retain students who begin in district pre‑K programs.

The board did not vote on the enrollment presentation (it was provided for information); administrators said they will bring follow‑up data and recommendations to future meetings.