Kankakee Times

There were 3,097 Black students enrolled in Kankakee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.1% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 19.9% of the 15,600 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the third most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 34 schools in Kankakee County, Kankakee High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 622 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Kankakee High School	43.9%	1,416
John Kennedy Middle Grade School	47.4%	515
Kankakee Junior High School	48%	504
Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School	11.5%	1,840
Lincoln Cltrl Center-Montessori Elementary School	43.1%	457
King Middle Grade School	53%	349
Taft Primary School	59.7%	300
Edison Primary School	65.3%	202
Mark Twain Primary School	43.1%	274
Liberty Intermediate School	13.8%	738
Lorenzo R. Smith Elementary School	49.2%	189
Alan B. Shepard Elementary School	17.4%	477
Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center	15.4%	487
Bradley East Elementary School	13.5%	520
Steuben Elementary School	23.2%	271
Momence High School	18.2%	318
Bradley Central Middle School	14.8%	378
Momence Junior High School	16.4%	342
Shabbona Elementary School	18%	289
Bradley West Elementary School	12.7%	387
Je-Neir Elementary School	13.5%	334
St. Anne Community High School	20.6%	194
Noel Levasseur Elementary School	11.2%	340
St. George Elementary School	9.8%	378
Manteno High School	3.3%	549
Manteno Middle School	3.2%	528
Manteno Elementary School	2.1%	698
Limestone Middle School	0%	459
St. Anne Elementary School	0%	248
Herscher High School	0%	507
Herscher Intermediate School	0%	376
Bonfield Grade School	0%	296
Grant Park Elementary School	0%	319
Grant Park High School	0%	121