East Central Reporter

There were 291 white students enrolled in Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A in the 2021-22 school year, 5.2% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A welcomed 356 students during the 2021-22 school year. Among them, white students comprised 97.7% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the district.

Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A roughly covers schools within Shelby County and has a main office in Cowden.

Among the two schools in Cowden-Herrick Community Unit School District 3A, Cowden-Herrick Junior/Senior High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 156 students.

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 three percent 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.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total of White Students	White students %
2022	298	291	97.7%
2021	316	307	97.2%
2020	326	321	98.5%
2019	398	389	97.7%
2018	356	352	98.9%