Rock Island Today

There were 4,083 Black students enrolled in Rock Island County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 4.3% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 18.4% of the 22,197 students in the county. They were the third most represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the 10 districts in Rock Island County, Rock Island School District 41 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 1,981 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Rock Island 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
Rock Island School District 41	32.3%	6,125
Moline-Coal Valley School District 40	12.2%	7,144
East Moline School District 37	27.9%	2,573
United Township High School District 30	18.8%	1,760
Carbon Cliff-Barstow School District 36	34.5%	275
Silvis School District 34	12%	610
Hampton School District 29	5.5%	235