Q: What is enrollment like at the Brookhaven and Lincoln County School Districts.

A: Increased enrollment in the Brookhaven School District has been likely due to increased programming at schools such as honors classes extended down to students in the fifth grade.

“Enrollment across the district is up,” Brookhaven School District Superintendent, Ben Cox said. “We’ve seen modest gains at Mamie Martin and at the high school. We’ve seen slight gains at the other schools, but we’ve seen gains.”

With a district total of 2,966 students, BSD’s enrollment numbers are broken down as follows: Mamie Martin Elementary with 835 students, Brookhaven Elementary School with 494 students, Lipsey Middle School with 416 students, Alexander Jr. High School with 421 students,

and Brookhaven High School with an enrollment of 800 students.

When asked about why he thinks enrollment numbers are up Cox attributed it to a range of factors starting with strong community support and a return of younger parents to the school district.

“Alexander and the high school have seen new advanced programs,” Cox said talking about new Advanced Placement (AP) classes and Dual Credit classes that allow students to receive college credits for classes they’re already taking.

“We wanted to offer students the option to excel,” Cox said.

Enrollment at the Lincoln County School District is up too, according to reports from the central office. Enterprise Attendance Center has the highest enrollment with 843 students. Enterprise is followed by Loyd Star with 824 students and West Lincoln with 822 students. Bogue Chitto Attendance Center reported a total of 654 students as of Dec. 2014.

“We have a really great school system ,and people are attracted to that,” Lincoln County Deputy Superintendent Letha Presley said. “It’s a safe and good environment. The teachers really care about each student. That really makes a difference.”

Officials from both schools foresee structural and curricular changes to effect enrollment in the future. Presley shared that the LCSD is upgrading software for students in the county schools and Cox remains optimistic about the providing of new programs for academically excelling students.