Franklin County Education: Which school had most students enrolled in 2021-22 school year

Vice Chair of the Board Dr. Donna S. Leak (2023) | Illinois State Board of education

By North Egypt News

Dec 2, 2023

Benton Grade School K-4 had the highest enrollment among Franklin County schools, welcoming 617 students during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Out of all the students welcomed in the 2021-22 school year, 53% of them were boys, and 47% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 94.7% of the student body at Benton Grade School K-4.

Among the 19 schools in Franklin County, Benton Consolidated High School ranked second in enrollment with 564 students, while Benton Grade School 5-8 welcomed 467 students to be ranked third in the 2021-22 school year.

Benton Grade School K-4 is a part of Benton Community Consolidated School District 47, which generally encompasses schools within Franklin County with its main office in Benton.

In the previous school year, Benton Grade School K-4 had the highest number of students among Franklin County schools.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 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.

Enrollment in Franklin County Over 4 Years

Demographics in Franklin County Schools During 2021-22 School Year

School name	City	Total Enrolment
Benton Grade School K-4	Benton	617
Benton Consolidated High School	Benton	564
Benton Grade School 5-8	Benton	467
Christopher Elementary School	Christopher	462
Denning Elementary School	West Frankfort	434
Frankfort Community High School	West Frankfort	417
Frankfort Intermediate School	West Frankfort	394
Sesser-Valier Elementary School	Sesser	265
Zeigler-Royalton Elementary School	Zeigler	251
Central Junior High School	West Frankfort	248
Christopher High School	Christopher	233
Ewing-Northern Elementary School	Ewing	217
Thompsonville Grade School	Thompsonville	214
Sesser-Valier High School	Sesser	184
Sesser-Valier Junior High School	Sesser	147
Zeigler-Royalton High School	Zeigler	142
Zeigler-Royalton Junior High School	Zeigler	114
Thompsonville High School	Thompsonville	99
Akin Community Consolidated Elementary School	Akin	94