There were 179 African American students enrolled in Franklin County districts in the 2022-23 school year, 5.3% more than the previous year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Data showed that Franklin County districts welcomed a total of 8,586 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American pupils comprised 2.1% of the student body to be the fourth most represented ethnicity in the county districts.
Among the 19 districts in Franklin County, Greater Commonwealth Virtual District recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 85 students.
The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Franklin County.
Students in Massachusetts are predominantly white, making up 53% of the student population in the state. Hispanic students come in second, representing over 25% of Massachusetts’ student body.
However, across the state, Hispanic and Native American 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 | % of African American Students Enrolment | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Conway Public Schools | 0% | 123 |
| Erving School District | 0% | 129 |
| Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical School District | 1% | 602 |
| Frontier Regional School District | 1.7% | 606 |
| Frontier Regional/Union#38 Public Schools | 0.3% | 309 |
| Gill-Montague Regional School District | 1.6% | 863 |
| Greater Commonwealth Virtual District | 7.4% | 1,155 |
| Greenfield Public Schools | 2.5% | 1,446 |
| Hawlemont Regional School District | 0% | 91 |
| Leverett School District | 0% | 141 |
| Mohawk Trail Regional School District | 0.9% | 788 |
| New Salem-Wendell Regional School District | 0% | 131 |
| Orange School District | 1.1% | 524 |
| Pioneer Valley Regional School District | 0.2% | 660 |
| Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District | 1.1% | 523 |
| Rowe School District | 1.5% | 66 |
| Shutesbury Public School District | 0.8% | 124 |
| Sunderland School District | 2.3% | 177 |
| Whately Public Schools | 0.8% | 128 |
