Galesburg Reporter

Hispanic students, constituting 5.4% or 19 of ROWVA Elementary School's total student population of 352, accounted for one out of the 14 total suspensions (7.1%) in the 2021-22 school year, averaging one suspension per 19 students, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

During the same period, ROWVA Elementary School's 324 white students, who make up 92% of the school population, received 13 suspensions. This translates to an average of roughly one suspension per 25 white students, which is lower than that of Hispanic students, making them the best-behaved racial group in the school.

Of the 14 total suspensions at ROWVA Elementary School in the 2021-22 school year, eight were in-school suspensions and six out-of-school suspensions.

In addition, 104 students, or 29.6% of the student population, fell into the chronically absent category, a broader measure that includes all absences, excused or not.

In a broader context, data from the ProPublica database indicates that Black students are suspended at a rate 4.6 times higher than white students in Illinois—surpassing the already high national average rate of 3.9 times.

However, districts’ officials deny a direct link between these statistics and race. Lisa Small, the Superintendent of District 211, argues that these numbers oversimplify the situation. “Decisions are highly individualized and based on the specific behavior and are not well-suited to a simple numerical analysis,” she wrote in a statement. “They are not a statistic to us, but a developing young adult.”

Illinois ranks 12th in the nation for the highest rate of suspensions among Black students relative to their white peers.

Race	Number of Students	Total Infractions	Infractions Per Student
Hispanic	19	1	0.05
White	324	13	0.04