Illinois Valley Times

The majority of students in Putnam County schools were white in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 779 students attending Putnam County schools, 86% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 12.3% of Putnam County students.

In the previous school year, white students were the most common group in Putnam County, representing 85.2% of the student body.

Putnam County Junior High School had the most even distribution of races among county schools, including 80.4% white students and 18.2% Hispanic students.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 0.6% when 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.

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	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrolment
Putnam County Elementary School	White	85.8%	155
Putnam County High School	White	87.8%	263
Putnam County Junior High School	White	80.4%	148
Putnam County Primary School	White	87.8%	213