West Central Reporter

There were 500 white students enrolled in Western Community Unit School District 12 in the 2021-22 school year, 2.2% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Western Community Unit School District 12 welcomed 573 students during the 2021-22 school year. Among them, white students comprised 96.0% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the district.

Western Community Unit School District 12 roughly covers schools within Pike County and has a main office in Barry.

Among the three schools in Western Community Unit School District 12, Western Barry Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 212 students.

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 three percent 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.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total of White Students	White students %
2022	521	500	96%
2021	515	489	95%
2020	540	511	94.6%
2019	564	539	95.6%
2018	573	545	95.1%