There were 246 Black students enrolled in Pulaski County public schools in the 2024-25 school year, 1.2% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Data showed that Black students made up 33.5% of the 734 students during the 2024-25 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity in the county schools.
Among the four schools in Pulaski County, Meridian Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 108 students.
As of the 2024-25 school year, Illinois public schools served just under 1.85 million K-12 students statewide, continuing a slow decline in enrollment from previous years. During that same period, the state recorded a student-teacher ratio of about 17:1 as full-time equivalent teachers rose to a record 137,899.
K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state’s demographic changes. Between the 2017-18 and 2024-25 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately two million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 153,000 students or 7.6%.
| School name | % of Black students enrolment | Total enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Meridian Elementary School | 50.7% | 213 |
| Meridian High School | 54.4% | 193 |
| Century Elementary School | 12.4% | 185 |
| Century Junior/Senior High School | 7% | 143 |
Information in this article was obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education. The source data can be found here.
