East Central Reporter

Parkside Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Lawrence County schools, welcoming 516 students during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Out of all the students welcomed in the 2021-22 school year, 52.1% of them were boys, and 47.9% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 89.1% of the student body at Parkside Elementary School.

Among the six schools in Lawrence County, Red Hill Junior/Senior High School ranked second in enrollment with 380 students, while Bridgeport Grade School welcomed 353 students to be ranked third in the 2021-22 school year.

Parkside Elementary School is a part of Lawrence County Community Unit School District 20, which generally encompasses schools within Lawrence County with its main office in Lawrenceville.

In the previous school year, Parkside Elementary School had the highest number of students among Lawrence County schools.

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.

School name	City	Total Enrolment
Parkside Elementary School	Lawrenceville	516
Red Hill Junior/Senior High School	Bridgeport	380
Bridgeport Grade School	Bridgeport	353
Lawrenceville High School	Lawrenceville	328
Parkview Junior High School	Lawrenceville	238
Sumner Attendance Center	Sumner	207