Illinois Valley Times

There were 10,478 white students enrolled in LaSalle County school districts in the 2021-22 school year, the same number as the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that white students made up 72.4% of the 14,467 students in LaSalle County during the 2021-22 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity.

Among the 26 districts in LaSalle County, Ottawa Elementary School District 141 recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 1,272 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with LaSalle 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 white students enrolment	Total enrollment
Ottawa Elementary School District 141	72.8%	1,748
Ottawa Township High School District 140	77.6%	1,260
Streator Elementary School District 44	60.9%	1,477
LaSalle-Peru Township High School District 120	72.6%	1,213
Peru Elementary School District 124	73.1%	937
Streator Township High School District 40	68.6%	816
Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289	54%	1,013
Community Unit School District 2	84.6%	638
La Salle Elementary School District 122	55.7%	885
Marseilles Elementary School District 150	77.8%	517
Seneca Community Consolidated School District 170	85%	466
Oglesby Elementary School District 125	78.2%	449
Wallace Community Consolidated School District 195	82.1%	418
Seneca Township High School District 160	88.8%	383
Earlville Community Unit School District 9	83.2%	375
Mendota Township High School District 280	50.9%	503
Leland Community Unit School District 1	86.6%	239
Waltham Community Consolidated School District 185	88.8%	205
Grand Ridge Community Consolidated School District 95	92.5%	186
Miller Township Community Consolidated School District 210	94.6%	168
Dimmick Community Consolidated School District 175	89.3%	150
Tonica Community Consolidated School District 79	87.8%	131
Allen-Otter Creek Community Consolidated School District 65	87%	92
Lostant Community Unit School District 425	100%	63
Rutland Community Consolidated School District 230	79.2%	72
Deer Park Community Consolidated School District 82	85.7%	63