South Cook News

There were 1,292 white students enrolled in Ridgeland School District 122 in the 2021-22 school year, 7.1% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Ridgeland School District 122 welcomed 2,386 students during the 2021-22 school year. Among them, white students comprised 56.2% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the district.

Ridgeland School District 122 roughly covers schools within Cook County and has a main office in Oak Lawn.

Among the five schools in Ridgeland School District 122, Simmons Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 416 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	2,300	1,292	56.2%
2021	2,313	1,390	60.1%
2020	2,448	1,525	62.3%
2019	2,471	1,580	63.9%
2018	2,386	1,580	66.2%