Dighton-Rehoboth Updated Enrollment Figures

Dighton-Rehoboth School Superintendent Bill Runey presented updated enrollment projections to the School Committee at their September 22 meeting.

The conversion rate of Grade 8 students choosing to attend the high school has increased from 69.3 percent for the 2023-2024 school year to 83.1 percent for the 2026-2027 school year. The prior Grade 8 size included 213 students. Out of that number, 177 are now attending high school.

“One of my priorities since arriving in Dighton-Rehoboth has been strengthening student retention, particularly during the transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9,” Runey noted. “For too many years, a significant number of our students chose to continue their education somewhere other than DRRHS. Reversing that trend was never going to be accomplished through one program, one event, or one message. It required us to strengthen the student experience and give families more reasons to choose our #WeAreDR community where we believe there’s something for everyone.”

The CTE (Career and Technical Education) Exploratory Preparation data shows an even larger increase, from 40.9 percent of freshmen enrolled in the program for the 2022-2023 school year, to 72.9 percent for the 2026-2027 school year. Nearly three out of every four freshmen are now participating in the CTE Exploratory experience. The number of participating students has grown from 67 to 129.

Despite the presented numbers, the high school’s overall enrollment has declined during Runey’s tenure. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), high school enrollment showed 687 students for 2022-2023 and 614 for 2025-2026.

The CTE Exploratory-to-Program conversion jumped from 97 percent for the 2022-2023 school year to 100 percent for the 2026-2027 school year.

“The growth in Exploratory participation is encouraging, but so is what happens afterward,” Runey said. “In each of the last two completed cohorts, every student who participated in CTE Exploratory chose to continue into a CTE program.”

“The numbers are important, but the larger story is about belonging, opportunity, and choice. We want students to choose DR, experience the opportunities available to them, and ultimately find a pathway that shapes their futures.”

“That work has been intentional. We have focused on creating more opportunities for students to experience DRRHS before freshman year and more ways for them to find their place once they arrive. Performing Arts, Athletics, our new eSports team, student activities, Early College, expanded CTE opportunities, and other academic and career pathways are all part of that larger effort. Just as importantly, we have become much more deliberate about telling students and families what DRRHS has to offer,” Runey added.