NW Illinois News

There were 3,175 white students enrolled in Lee County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 0.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 82.5% of the 3,848 students in Lee County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the five districts in Lee County, Dixon Unit School District 170 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 1,964 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Lee 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
Dixon Unit School District 170	79.7%	2,463
Amboy Community Unit School District 272	88.2%	721
Ashton Franklin Center Community Unit School District 275	88.2%	484
Lee Center Community Unit School District 271	83.3%	114
Steward Elementary School District 220	80.3%	66