Galesburg Reporter

There were 581 Hispanic students enrolled in Knox County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 3.4% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 8.7% of the 6,654 students in the county. They were the second least represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the five districts in Knox County, Galesburg Community Unit School District 205 recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 462 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Knox 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	Hispanic Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Galesburg Community Unit School District 205	11.9%	3,884
Abingdon-Avon Community Unit School District 276	5.4%	900
Knoxville Community Unit School District 202	4%	964
ROWVA Community Unit School District 208	5%	616