South Central Reporter

There were 45 Hispanic students enrolled in Macoupin County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 87.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Hispanic students made up 0.6% of the 7,210 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the second least represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 26 schools in Macoupin County, Staunton Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 18 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
Staunton Elementary School	3.4%	529
Staunton High School	3.8%	396
North Mac Elementary School	3.5%	343
Carlinville High School	0%	354
Carlinville Intermediate School	0%	264
Carlinville Middle School	0%	279
Carlinville Primary School	0%	386
Shipman Elementary School	0%	159
Southwestern High School	0%	372
Southwestern Middle School	0%	173
Staunton Junior High School	0%	235
Wolf Ridge Education Center	0%	350
Ben-Gil Elementary School	0%	538
Brighton North Primary School	0%	286
Bunker Hill High School	0%	206
Medora Intermediate School	0%	164
North Mac High School	0%	353
North Mac Intermediate School	0%	201
Northwestern Elementary School	0%	181
Northwestern High School	0%	82
Northwestern Junior High School	0%	52
North Mac Middle School	0%	236
Mt. Olive Elementary School	0%	356
Mt. Olive High School	0%	129
Gillespie High School	0%	327
Gillespie Middle School	0%	259