Jackson County Education: Which district had most students enrolled in schools in 2021-22 school year

Carbondale Elementary School District 95 Principal Ms. Janice Pavelonis (2023) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-pavelonis-04613a85/

By Carbondale Reporter

Jan 18, 2024

Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 had the highest enrollment among Jackson County districts, welcoming 1,906 students during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2021-22 school year, 51.8% of them were boys, and 48.2% were girls.

Data also showed that the majority of students were white, making up 66% of the Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186's total enrollment.

Among the eight districts in Jackson County, Carbondale Elementary School District 95 ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,513 students, while Carbondale Community High School District 165 welcomed 930 students and ranked third in the 2021-22 school year.

Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 roughly covers schools within Jackson County with its main office in Murphysboro.

In the previous school year, Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 also had the highest number of students among Jackson County districts.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of almost 4,000 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for several years, influenced by demographic changes. Between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years, public and private K-12 enrollment fell by 3% (60,900 students), a significantly larger decline than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual decreases seen in the state over the last five years.

Enrollment in Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 Over 5 Years

Enrollment in Jackson County Districts During 2021-22 School Year

District	City (main office)	Total Enrollment
Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186	Murphysboro	1,906
Carbondale Elementary School District 95	Carbondale	1,513
Carbondale Community High School District 165	Carbondale	930
Trico Community Unit School District 176	Campbell Hill	800
Unity Point Community Consolidated School District 140	Carbondale	617
Elverado Community Unit School District 196	Elkville	382
Giant City Community Consolidated School District 130	Carbondale	241
DeSoto Consolidated School District 86	De Soto	177