Southern Illinois News

There were 225 Hispanic students enrolled in Union County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 8.9% of the 2,524 students in Union County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the seven districts in Union County, Cobden School Unit District 17 recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 128 students.

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

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 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	% of Hispanic students enrolment	Total enrollment
Cobden School Unit District 17	27.6%	463
Anna Community Consolidated School District 37	6.9%	568
Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81	7.1%	504
County of Union School District 43	3.5%	345
Dongola Unit School District 66	4.2%	237
Lick Creek Community Consolidated School District 16	0%	138
Shawnee Community Unit School District 84	0%	269