SE Illinois News

There were 2,265 white students enrolled in Wayne County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 1.2% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 94.6% of the 2,394 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 12 schools in Wayne County, Fairfield Community High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 410 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 White students enrolment	Total enrollment
Fairfield Community High School	93%	441
Wayne City Attendance Center	97.4%	347
North Side Elementary School	89.6%	336
Center Street Elementary School	91.5%	293
New Hope Elementary School	97.9%	187
Jasper Elementary School	95.5%	176
Wayne City High School	97.9%	142
Johnsonville Elementary School	100%	114
Cisne High School	98.1%	107
Cisne Middle School	98%	101
Geff Elementary School	90.3%	93
Mount Erie Elementary School	98.2%	57