Southern Illinois News

There were 243 Black students enrolled in Alexander County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 11.3% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 40.3% of the 603 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the five schools in Alexander County, Cairo Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 127 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Cairo Elementary School	73%	174
Cairo Junior/Senior High School	76.3%	118
Egyptian Elementary School	16.7%	156
Egyptian Junior High School	0%	70
Egyptian Senior High School	0%	85