Chambana Sun

There were 2,117 white students enrolled in Ford County County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 0.8% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 84.5% of the 2,504 students during the 2022-23 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the eight schools in Ford County County, Clara Peterson Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in 2022-23 school year, with a total of 518 students.

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.

School name	% of White students enrolment	Total enrollment
Clara Peterson Elementary School	83	624
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary School	85.5	468
Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School	83.6	397
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School	88.2	287
Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School	83.1	266
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Middle School	86.4	206
Tri-Point Junior High/Elementary	83.2	143
Tri Point Elementary School	85	113