Will County Gazette

There were 31,531 Hispanic students enrolled in Will County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, 2.4% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 30.6% of the 103,077 students in Will County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity.

Among the 29 districts in Will County, Valley View Community Unit School District 365U recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 7,080 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Will 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
Valley View Community Unit School District 365U	47.2%	15,015
Joliet Public School District 86	66.5%	9,814
Plainfield School District 202	25.1%	24,904
Joliet Township High School District 204	56.1%	6,838
Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C	36.3%	3,994
Lincoln Way Community High School District 210	11.9%	6,586
Lockport Township High School District 205	20.5%	3,778
Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201-U	17%	4,290
New Lenox School District 122	10.7%	4,994
Richland Grade School District 88A	43.5%	844
Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C	9.9%	3,640
Summit Hill School District 161	12.5%	2,536
Beecher Community Unit School District 200U	22.7%	1,022
Will County School District 92	16%	1,389
Frankfort Community Consolidated School District 157C	7.9%	2,591
Chaney-Monge School District 88	45.9%	436
Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C	42.1%	447
Fairmont School District 89	53.5%	327
Manhattan School District 114	9.1%	1,742
Mokena School District 159	10.2%	1,551
Channahon School District 17	13.3%	1,164
Peotone Community Unit School District 207U	11.8%	1,281
Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U	11.7%	1,227
Reed Custer Community Unit School District 255U	10.6%	1,298
Rockdale School District 84	53.3%	214
Lockport School District 91	20.7%	546
Elwood Community Consolidated School District 203	24.6%	256
Taft School District 90	25.1%	247
Union School District 81	38.7%	106