Southern Illinois News

Of the many ethnicities represented in Alexander County schools, white was the most prevalent ethnicity among Alexander County students in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 613 students attending Alexander County schools, 46.8% were white. African American students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 40.8% of Alexander County students.

In the previous school year, white students were the most common group in Alexander County, representing 47.3% of the student body.

Cairo Elementary School and Egyptian Elementary School had the most diverse student body in Alexander County, including African American, multiracial, and white.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 8.5% when compared to the previous year.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 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.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrolment
Cairo Elementary School	African American	77.9%	163
Cairo Junior/Senior High School	African American	86.1%	108
Egyptian Elementary School	White	77.1%	166
Egyptian Junior High School	White	80.9%	68
Egyptian Senior High School	White	84.3%	108