Sangamon County Education: Which district had most students enrolled in schools in 2021-22 school year

Springfield School District 186 Principal Mrs. Jennifer Gill (2023) | Springfield School District 186

By Sangamon Sun

Jan 23, 2024

Springfield School District 186 had the highest enrollment among Sangamon County districts, welcoming 13,015 students during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2021-22 school year, 51.2% of them were boys, and 48.8% were girls.

The most represented ethnicity among Springfield School District 186 students was Black, accounting for 43.2% of the student population.

Among the 10 districts in Sangamon County, Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5 ranked second in enrollment numbers with 4,636 students, while Rochester Community Unit School District 3A welcomed 2,102 students and ranked third in the 2021-22 school year.

Springfield School District 186 roughly covers schools within Sangamon County with its main office in Springfield.

In the previous school year, Springfield School District 186 also had the highest number of students among Sangamon County districts.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of almost 4,000 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 several years, influenced by demographic changes. Between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years, public and private K-12 enrollment fell by 3% (60,900 students), a significantly larger decline than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual decreases seen in the state over the last five years.

Enrollment in Springfield School District 186 Over 5 Years

Enrollment in Sangamon County Districts During 2021-22 School Year

District	City (main office)	Total Enrollment
Springfield School District 186	Springfield	13,015
Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5	Chatham	4,636
Rochester Community Unit School District 3A	Rochester	2,102
Williamsville Community Unit School District 15	Williamsville	1,503
Pleasant Plains Community Unit School District 8	Pleasant Plains	1,245
Riverton Community Unit School District 14	Riverton	1,236
Auburn Community Unit School District 10	Auburn	1,160
Community Unit School District 16	New Berlin	848
Tri-City Community Unit School District 1	Buffalo	590
Pawnee Community Unit School District 11	Pawnee	543