South Central Reporter

Staunton Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Macoupin County schools, welcoming 540 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, 53.9% of them were boys, and 46.1% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 95.6% of the student body at Staunton Elementary School.

Among the 26 schools in Macoupin County, Ben-Gil Elementary School ranked second in enrollment with 534 students, while Carlinville High School welcomed 407 students to be ranked third in the 2021-22 school year.

Staunton Elementary School is a part of Staunton Community Unit School District 6, which generally encompasses schools within Macoupin County with its main office in Staunton.

In the previous school year, Staunton Elementary School had the highest number of students among Macoupin 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.

School name	City	Total Enrolment
Staunton Elementary School	Staunton	540
Ben-Gil Elementary School	Gillespie	534
Carlinville High School	Carlinville	407
Staunton High School	Staunton	388
Southwestern High School	Piasa	382
North Mac High School	Virden	370
Mt. Olive Elementary School	Mount Olive	367
Carlinville Primary School	Carlinville	365
Wolf Ridge Education Center	Bunker Hill	357
Gillespie High School	Gillespie	345
North Mac Elementary School	Virden	320
Staunton Junior High School	Staunton	285
Carlinville Middle School	Carlinville	283
Brighton North Primary School	Brighton	271
Carlinville Intermediate School	Carlinville	265
North Mac Middle School	Girard	261
Gillespie Middle School	Gillespie	261
Bunker Hill High School	Bunker Hill	222
North Mac Intermediate School	Girard	215
Southwestern Middle School	Piasa	209
Northwestern Elementary School	Palmyra	193
Medora Intermediate School	Medora	183
Shipman Elementary School	Shipman	181
Mt. Olive High School	Mount Olive	105
Northwestern High School	Palmyra	90
Northwestern Junior High School	Palmyra	43