Southern Illinois News

Of the many ethnicities represented in Alexander County district's, 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 district schools, 47.8% were white. African American students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 41.8% of Alexander County's districts students.

In the previous school year, white students were the most common group in Alexander County districts, representing 48.4% of the student body.

Cairo Unit School District 1 and Egyptian Community Unit School District 5 had the most diverse student body in the Alexander County, including African American, Multi-racial, and white.

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

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

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.

District	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrolment
Cairo Unit School District 1	African American	81.2%	271
Egyptian Community Unit School District 5	White	80.1%	342