North Egypt News

There were 87 Hispanic students enrolled in Franklin County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 31.8% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 1.6% of the 5,503 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the least represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 19 schools in Franklin County, Benton Grade School K-4 recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 27 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Hispanic students enrolment	Total enrollment
Benton Grade School K-4	4.5%	596
Benton Consolidated High School	3.6%	588
Benton Grade School 5-8	3.5%	426
Sesser-Valier Elementary School	4.9%	266
Denning Elementary School	2.3%	470
Central Junior High School	0%	216
Christopher Elementary School	0%	502
Christopher High School	0%	194
Zeigler-Royalton Elementary School	0%	247
Zeigler-Royalton High School	0%	130
Zeigler-Royalton Junior High School	0%	102
Sesser-Valier High School	0%	176
Sesser-Valier Junior High School	0%	131
Frankfort Community High School	0%	398
Frankfort Intermediate School	0%	419
Ewing-Northern Elementary School	0%	233
Thompsonville Grade School	0%	210
Thompsonville High School	0%	88
Akin Community Consolidated Elementary School	0%	111