Carbondale Reporter

There were 3,835 white students enrolled in Jackson County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 1.6% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 58.4% of the 6,566 students in Jackson County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the eight districts in Jackson County, Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 1,258 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Jackson County.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 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 many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

District	% of white students enrolment	Total enrollment
Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186	66%	1,906
Trico Community Unit School District 176	85.3%	800
Carbondale Community High School District 165	49.7%	930
Unity Point Community Consolidated School District 140	63.5%	617
Carbondale Elementary School District 95	24.9%	1,513
Elverado Community Unit School District 196	89.5%	382
Giant City Community Consolidated School District 130	73.4%	241
DeSoto Consolidated School District 86	82.5%	177