East Central Reporter

The majority of students in Coles County district's were white in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 5,841 students attending Coles County district schools, 82.4% were white. Multi-racial students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 6.5% of Coles County's districts students.

In the previous school year, white students were the most common group in Coles County districts, representing 82.7% of the student body.

Charleston Community Unit School District 1 and Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 had the most diverse student body in the Coles County, including Asian, African American, Hispanic, Multi-racial, and white.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public school districts in the county increased 2.3% when compared to the previous year.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Coles County.

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.

District	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrolment
Charleston Community Unit School District 1	White	81.5%	2,525
Mattoon Community Unit School District 2	White	81.8%	3,059
Oakland Community Unit School District 5	White	98.1%	257