Illinois Valley Times

There were 352 Black students enrolled in LaSalle County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 2.3% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 2.4% of the 14,390 students in the county. They were the second least represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the 26 districts in LaSalle County, Streator Elementary School District 44 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 93 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	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Streator Elementary School District 44	6.1%	1,515
Ottawa Elementary School District 141	3.2%	1,739
Streator Township High School District 40	5.2%	803
La Salle Elementary School District 122	4.7%	867
Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289	3.2%	1,021
Ottawa Township High School District 140	2.4%	1,225
LaSalle-Peru Township High School District 120	2.3%	1,177
Peru Elementary School District 124	1.8%	942
Marseilles Elementary School District 150	2.7%	513