South Cook News

There were 33 white students enrolled in Park Forest School District 163 in the 2021-22 school year, 5.7% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Park Forest School District 163 welcomed 1,838 students during the 2021-22 school year. Among them, white students comprised 2.2% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the district.

Park Forest School District 163 roughly covers schools within Cook County and has a main office in Park Forest.

Among the five schools in Park Forest School District 163, Michelle Obama School of Technology and the ARTS recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2021-22 school year, with a total of 13 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	1,480	33	2.2%
2021	1,483	35	2.4%
2020	1,711	43	2.5%
2019	1,778	46	2.6%
2018	1,838	40	2.2%