Southern Illinois News

There were 218 white students enrolled in Dongola Unit School District 66 in the 2021-22 school year, 13.5% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Dongola Unit School District 66 welcomed 281 students during the 2021-22 school year. Among them, white students comprised 92.0% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the district.

Dongola Unit School District 66 roughly covers schools within Union County and has a main office in Dongola.

Among the three schools in Dongola Unit School District 66, Dongola Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 118 students.

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 three percent 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.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total of White Students	White students %
2022	237	218	92%
2021	262	252	96.2%
2020	271	261	96.3%
2019	302	287	95%
2018	281	269	95.7%