Carbondale Reporter

There were 561 Black students enrolled in Williamson County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 9.6% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 5.7% of the 9,809 students in the county. They were the third most represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the five districts in Williamson County, Marion Community Unit School District 2 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 356 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Williamson 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	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Marion Community Unit School District 2	9.5%	3,730
Herrin Community Unit School District 4	5.4%	2,316
Carterville Community Unit School District 5	3.6%	2,198