West Massachusetts News

The majority of students in Franklin County school districts were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Of the 8,586 students attending classes within Franklin County school districts, 78% were white. Hispanic students made up the second largest ethnic group among Franklin County's school districts, making up 12.1% of the student body.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common ethnicity in Franklin County school districts, representing 79.2% of the student body.

Greater Commonwealth Virtual District had the most even distribution of races among county school districts, which included 51.9% of white students, 26.3% of Hispanic students, 8.1% of multiracial students, 7.4% of African American students, and 0.3% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in school districts in the county dropped by 1% compared to the previous year.

The main offices of all school districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Franklin County.

Students in Massachusetts are predominantly white, according to state data from 2020. 35% of students were considered people of color.

Across the state, Hispanic and Latino students suffered the highest high school dropout rates.

Underrepresentation is also found among educators in Massachusetts. The Rennie Center reported that only 9% of teachers are people of color.

District	Most Prevalent Ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Conway Public Schools	White	91.9%	123
Frontier Regional/Union#38 Public Schools	White	86.1%	309
Erving School District	White	85.3%	129
Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical School District	White	89.4%	602
Frontier Regional School District	White	83.7%	606
Gill-Montague Regional School District	White	75.6%	863
Greater Commonwealth Virtual District	White	51.9%	1,155
Greenfield Public Schools	White	69.6%	1,446
Hawlemont Regional School District	White	86.8%	91
Leverett School District	White	85.1%	141
Mohawk Trail Regional School District	White	90.5%	788
New Salem-Wendell Regional School District	White	86.3%	131
Orange School District	White	82.3%	524
Pioneer Valley Regional School District	White	92%	660
Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District	White	84.3%	523
Rowe School District	White	77.3%	66
Shutesbury Public School District	White	86.3%	124
Sunderland School District	White	70.1%	177
Whately Public Schools	White	92.2%	128