Chambana Sun

There were 160 Hispanic students enrolled in Ford County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 15.9% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 7.2% of the 2,233 students in Ford County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the two districts in Ford County, Paxton-Buckley-Loda Community Unit School District 10 recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 113 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Ford 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 Hispanic students enrolment	Total enrollment
Paxton-Buckley-Loda Community Unit School District 10	8.9%	1,276
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Community Unit School District 5	4.9%	957