Chambana Sun

There were 228 Hispanic students enrolled in Ford County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.7% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 9.2% of the 2,465 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the eight schools in Ford County, Clara Peterson Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 54 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Hispanic students enrolment	Total enrollment
Clara Peterson Elementary School	9.2%	585
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary School	9.2%	498
Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School	9.3%	364
Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School	11.9%	278
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Middle School	8.5%	212
Tri Point Elementary School	14.2%	120
Tri-Point Junior High/Elementary	9.9%	142
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School	4.5%	266