South West Illinois News

There were 4,674 white students enrolled in Monroe County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 1.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 93.8% of the 4,985 students in Monroe County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the three districts in Monroe County, Waterloo Community Unit School District 5 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 2,534 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Monroe 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 white students enrolment	Total enrollment
Waterloo Community Unit School District 5	94.7%	2,676
Columbia Community Unit School District 4	92.1%	1,960
Valmeyer Community Unit School District 3	95.7%	349