Peoria Standard

There were 296 Black students enrolled in Tazewell County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 1% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 1.6% of the 18,366 students in the county. They were the third least represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the 18 districts in Tazewell County, East Peoria School District 86 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 58 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Tazewell 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	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
East Peoria School District 86	4%	1,434
Morton Community Unit School District 709	1.7%	3,209
Pekin Public School District 108	1.6%	3,132
Creve Coeur School District 76	5.1%	472
East Peoria Community High School District 309	2%	935
Washington Community High School District 308	1.3%	1,451
Washington School District 52	2.1%	826
Pekin Consolidated School District 303	0.8%	1,766
Tremont Community Unit School District 702	1.5%	906
Central School District 51	1%	1,273
Delavan Community Unit School District 703	2.7%	412