Special Populations
One in 20 Maine Students Is Now an English Learner
Maine's English learner population surged 54% in nine years even as total enrollment fell, driven by refugee resettlement and asylum seekers in Portland and Lewiston.
Maine
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Maine, grounded in Maine Department of Education data.
Multiracial Students Now Tied with Hispanic as Maine's Third-Largest Group
Maine's multiracial enrollment surged 62% in nine years to 6,652. Three growing groups converge as white enrollment sheds nearly 20,000.
Lewiston Held Its Enrollment Steady While Auburn, Across the River, Lost Seven Straight Years
Lewiston's enrollment held within 3% of its 2017 level while twin-city Auburn, separated by a bridge, declined 9.1% over seven years. Immigration is pulling the two cities apart.
Maine's Students From Migrant Farmworker Families Posted the State's Largest Attendance Gain
Students from Maine's migrant farmworker families cut chronic absenteeism by 21.9 points from 2022 to 2024, the largest gain of any subgroup.
One in Three Maine Districts at Record-Low Enrollment
Eighty-three of Maine's 214 districts hit all-time lows in 2026, including Portland, as three years of accelerating decline force budget cuts statewide.
More Coverage
Grade Shift
Two Pre-K Students for Every Three Kindergartners
Maine's pre-K enrollment surged 30% while kindergarten fell 14.8%, the steepest grade-level decline in the state. The divergence reveals a policy success colliding with a demographic wall.
Covid Impact
78% of Maine Districts Never Recovered From COVID
Five years after the pandemic, only 47 of 214 Maine districts have regained pre-COVID enrollment. The state is 11,436 students below its projected trajectory.
Enrollment
Maine Lost More Students This Year Than Any Since COVID
Maine lost 2,134 students in 2025-26, the worst non-COVID year on record. Three years of losses have erased the post-pandemic bounce.
District Spotlight
Lewiston Is Growing While Maine Shrinks
Maine's second-largest district has added students three years running, driven by immigrant families remaking a former mill town even as the state hits an enrollment low.
Demographics
One in 18 Maine Students Is Now Black
Black enrollment in Maine surged 50% in nine years, driven by African immigrant families in Lewiston and Portland, even as total enrollment hit a low.
Enrollment
168,923: Maine Hits Its Enrollment Floor
Maine public school enrollment fell to 168,923 in 2025-26, the lowest in at least a decade, driven by three years of accelerating losses.
Data Release
Maine Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
Maine DOE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 168,923 students statewide — down 2,134, the largest non-COVID loss on record.