Southern Illinois News

The majority of students in Union County district's were white in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 2,524 students attending Union County district schools, 87.1% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 8.9% of Union County's districts students.

In the previous school year, white students were the most common group in Union County districts, representing 87.7% of the student body.

Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81 had the most diverse student body in the Union County, including African American, Hispanic, Multi-racial, and white.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public school districts in the county dropped 4.2% when compared to the previous year.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Union 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
Anna Community Consolidated School District 37	White	88.4%	568
Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81	White	87.9%	504
Cobden School Unit District 17	White	70%	463
County of Union School District 43	White	93.9%	345
Dongola Unit School District 66	White	92%	237
Lick Creek Community Consolidated School District 16	White	92.8%	138
Shawnee Community Unit School District 84	White	96.7%	269