Will County Gazette

Of the ethnicities represented in Will County schools, white was the most prevalent ethnicity among Will County students in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 110,319 students attending Will County schools, 46.2% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 28.5% of Will County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Will County, representing 47.3% of the student body.

Joliet Central High School had the most diverse student body in Will County, including American Indian, Asian, African American, Hispanic, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 0.6% compared to the previous year.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Illinois has increased its state funding for public schools by $350 million, bringing the total to $8.6 billion for the upcoming year. This is in line with a 2017 law aiming to provide adequate funding to all schools by 2027.

However, experts suggest that this goal may be delayed unless education funding jumps to at least $550 million. According to a Center for Tax and Budget Accountability report, there’s currently a funding gap of about $2.3 billion.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
A. Vito Martinez Middle School	Hispanic	51.2%	664
A.O. Marshall Elementary School	Hispanic	90%	408
Alex M. Martino Junior High School	White	86.7%	572
Anna McDonald Elementary School	White	86.4%	574
Arbury Hills Elementary School	White	77.1%	166
Arlene Welch Elementary School	Asian	43.8%	573
Arnold J. Tyler School	White	81.7%	371
Balmoral Elementary School	African American	52.9%	429
Bednarcik Junior High School	White	47.5%	551
Beecher Elementary School	White	63.7%	433
Beecher High School	White	69.9%	342
Beecher Junior High School	White	69.1%	243
Bentley Elementary School	White	84.1%	370
Bernard J. Ward Elementary School	Hispanic	64.1%	362
Bolingbrook High School	Hispanic	45.1%	3,363
Brooks Middle School	Hispanic	47.7%	1,008
Bruning Elementary School	White	87%	215
Carl Sandburg Elementary School	African American	54.5%	312
Central Elementary School	White	54.4%	511
Chaney-Monge School	Hispanic	48.6%	405
Channahon Junior High School	White	81.7%	273
Chelsea Elementary School	White	75.2%	876
Cherry Hill Elementary And Early Childhood Center	White	70.1%	157
Clifford Crone Middle School	Asian	49.2%	847
Columbia Central School	Hispanic	38.4%	607
Coretta Scott King Magnet School	African American	74.6%	252
Creekside Elementary School	Hispanic	43.5%	492
Crete Elementary School	African American	51.2%	369
Crete-Monee High School	African American	63.8%	1,460
Crete-Monee Middle School	African American	62%	943
Crystal Lawns Elementary School	White	47.8%	289
Danielle-Joy Peterson Elementary School	Asian	58.9%	604
Dirksen Junior High School	Hispanic	59.2%	549
Dr. Julian Rogus School	White	72.2%	647
Drauden Point Middle School	White	45.1%	692
Eagle Pointe Elementary School	White	64.7%	600
Edna Keith Elementary School	African American	51%	261
Eisenhower Academy	Hispanic	48.9%	229
Elizabeth Eichelberger Elementary School	White	38.1%	559
Elwood C.C. School	White	65.3%	265
Fairmont School	Hispanic	59%	293
Farragut Elementary School	Hispanic	45.1%	446
Forest Park Individual Education School	Hispanic	77.1%	279
Frankfort Square Elementary School	White	72.6%	164
Freedom Elementary School	White	49.6%	540
Fry Elementary School	Asian	55.6%	574
Gompers Junior High School	Hispanic	86.6%	685
Goodings Grove School	White	83.1%	408
Gordon Gregory Middle School	White	54.9%	793
Grand Prairie Elementary School	White	44.7%	526
Grand Prairie Elementary School	White	76.7%	855
Hadley Middle School	White	82.5%	838
Haines Elementary School	White	75%	368
Heritage Grove Middle School	White	59.8%	879
Hickory Creek Middle School	White	75.4%	905
Homer Junior High School	White	84.9%	842
Homestead Elementary School	White	37.9%	483
Hubert H. Humphrey Middle School	Hispanic	52.4%	620
Hufford Junior High School	Hispanic	65.2%	1,122
Independence Elementary School	Hispanic	60.3%	597
Indian Trail Elementary School	White	68%	316
Indian Trail Middle School	White	46%	574
Irene King Elementary School	Hispanic	50.1%	421
Isaac Singleton Elementary School	Hispanic	83.5%	466
Jamie McGee Elementary School	African American	26.3%	380
Jane Addams Middle School	Hispanic	39.9%	562
John F. Kennedy Middle School	White	38.6%	893
John J. Lukancic Middle School	Hispanic	44.1%	572
John R. Tibbott Elementary School	Hispanic	69%	503
Joliet Central High School	Hispanic	70.7%	3,334
Joliet West High School	Hispanic	45.7%	3,365
Jonas E. Salk Elementary School	Hispanic	49.8%	490
Kelvin Grove Junior High School	White	67.9%	312
Kenneth L. Hermansen Elementary School	Hispanic	35.9%	395
Kingsley Elementary School	White	64.1%	418
L.J. Stevens Intermediate School	White	82.5%	325
Lakewood Falls Elementary School	Hispanic	38.5%	506
Laraway Elementary School	African American	46.2%	426
Liberty Elementary School	White	47.3%	556
Liberty Junior High School	White	80.9%	591
Lincoln Elementary School	White	57.7%	574
Lincoln Way West	White	80.5%	1,948
Lincoln-Way Central High School	White	81.6%	1,941
Lincoln-Way East High School	White	71.1%	2,727
Lockport Township High School East	White	68.5%	3,834
Ludwig Elementary School	White	79.7%	281
Luther J. Schilling School	White	84.4%	705
Lynne Thigpen Elementary School	Hispanic	57.7%	624
M.J. Cunningham Elementary School	Hispanic	82.5%	582
Manhattan Junior High School	White	83.1%	562
Meadow View Elementary School	White	48.4%	546
Milne Grove Elementary School	White	70.2%	238
Mokena Elementary School	White	78.8%	716
Mokena Intermediate School	White	80.3%	330
Mokena Junior High School	White	82.2%	499
Monee Elementary School	African American	51.7%	393
N.B. Galloway Elementary School	White	78.7%	375
Nelson Prairie School	White	82.2%	399
Nelson Ridge School	White	83.5%	467
Neuqua Valley High School	White	45%	3,199
Oak Prairie Junior High School	White	75.3%	449
Oak View Elementary School	Hispanic	45.8%	557
Oliver Julian Kendall Elementary School	Asian	53.3%	553
Orenic Intermediate School	White	40.4%	854
Oster-Oakview School	White	77.8%	369
Patterson Elementary School	White	50.4%	472
Peotone Elementary School	White	79.7%	281
Peotone High School	White	81%	437
Peotone Intermediate Center	White	82.1%	184
Peotone Junior High School	White	82.2%	292
Pershing Elementary School	Hispanic	62.3%	475
Pioneer Elementary School	White	26.7%	585
Pioneer Path School	White	81.1%	249
Plainfield East High School	White	36.4%	1,936
Plainfield High School	White	52.2%	1,940
Plainfield North High School	White	61.2%	2,325
Reed Elementary School	White	77.3%	291
Reed-Custer Elementary School	White	80.8%	634
Reed-Custer High School	White	84.7%	419
Reed-Custer Middle School	White	87.9%	272
Richard Ira Jones Middle School	White	62.7%	849
Richland Elementary School	Hispanic	47%	809
Ridge Elementary School	White	40.8%	519
River View Elementary School	White	54.3%	610
River Woods Elementary School	White	57.8%	469
Robert C. Hill Elementary School	Hispanic	43.5%	582
Robert Clow Elementary School	White	50%	340
Rockdale Elementary School	Hispanic	51.5%	239
Romeoville High School	Hispanic	50%	1,866
Sator Sanchez Elementary School	Hispanic	87%	714
Scullen Middle School	Asian	56.5%	968
Skoff Elementary School	Hispanic	61.8%	717
Spencer Crossing Intermediate School	White	88.3%	503
Spencer Pointe School	White	87.1%	487
Spencer Trail School	White	82.5%	382
Spring Brook Elementary School	White	53.1%	567
Steger Intermediate Center	Hispanic	43.2%	442
Summit Hill Junior High School	White	71.2%	638
T.E. Culbertson Elementary School	Hispanic	56.7%	210
Taft Elementary School	Hispanic	59.6%	314
Taft Grade School	White	63.8%	265
Talala Elementary School	African American	77.6%	277
The Wheatlands Elementary School	White	48.7%	524
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School	Hispanic	73.3%	412
Three Rivers School	White	81.8%	264
Timber Ridge Middle School	White	47.8%	858
Troy Craughwell School	Hispanic	39.1%	396
Troy Cronin Elementary School	Hispanic	38.6%	630
Troy Heritage Trail School	Hispanic	43%	405
Troy Hofer Elementary School	Hispanic	42.4%	422
Troy Middle School	White	43.3%	901
Troy Shorewood School	White	60.8%	337
Union Elementary School	Hispanic	44.3%	106
V. Blanche Graham Elementary School	Asian	43.5%	306
Walker Intermediate School	White	71.6%	545
Walker's Grove Elementary School	White	69.6%	618
Walnut Trails Elementary School	White	71.2%	517
Walsh Elementary School	White	77.6%	335
Washington Junior High and Academy Program	Hispanic	65.6%	741
Wayne Builta Elementary School	Asian	52.4%	296
Wesmere Elementary School	White	42.8%	545
William E. Young School	White	80%	430
William J. Butler School	White	85.1%	449
Wilmington High School	White	82.1%	403
Wilmington Middle School	White	83.3%	288
Wilson Creek Elementary School	White	84%	711
Wolf's Crossing Elementary School	White	48.9%	489
Wood View Elementary School	African American	47.2%	362
Woodland Elementary School	Hispanic	65.7%	283