Sangamon Sun

There were 6,122 Black students enrolled in Sangamon County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 23% of the 26,582 students in the county. They were the second most represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the 10 districts in Sangamon County, Springfield School District 186 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 5,676 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Sangamon 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	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Springfield School District 186	44%	12,911
Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5	6.3%	4,615
Riverton Community Unit School District 14	6.1%	1,206
Rochester Community Unit School District 3A	2%	2,063
Pleasant Plains Community Unit School District 8	2%	1,237
Williamsville Community Unit School District 15	0.9%	1,482