Waco Reporter

Of the many ethnicities represented in Texas districts, the most prevalent ethnic group among students enrolled in McLennan County districts in the 2021-22 school year were Hispanic, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 54,167 students attending McLennan County district schools, 41% were Hispanic. White students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 33.6% of McLennan County districts' students.

In the previous school year, Hispanic students still were the most common group in McLennan County districts, representing 40.6% of the student body.

Harmony Science Academy (Waco) had the most even distribution of races among county districts, with 44.2% Hispanic students, 25.4% Black students, 13.9% white students, 13.4% Asian students, 2.6% Multi-racial students, 0.4% American Indian students, and 0.1% Pacific Islander students.

In the 2021-22 school year, the total number of students enrolled in school districts in the county dropped 0.6% compared to the previous year.

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

Texas is found to be one of the least educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

More than 5.4 million students are enrolled in public schools across Texas. Nearly one million of them live in rural areas where options for local public schools are few and far between.

Education in Texas is often a hot button issue, especially as test scores lag behind other states.

“The problems commonly cited are flaws in the school financing system, relatively low teacher salary, poor test performance by students…dropouts from traditional schools in favor of charter schools…gun violence, and mental health issues,” claimed the Texas Almanac.

District	Most prevalent ethnic group	Percent of Total Student Body	Total enrollment
Axtell ISD	white	74.8%	758
Bosqueville ISD	white	67.1%	702
Bruceville-Eddy ISD	white	63.6%	610
China Spring ISD	white	65.4%	2,958
Connally ISD	Hispanic	38.6%	2,270
Crawford ISD	white	87.3%	558
Gholson ISD	white	66.4%	232
Hallsburg ISD	white	72.8%	162
Harmony Science Academy (Waco)	Hispanic	44.2%	9,892
La Vega ISD	Hispanic	58.2%	3,091
Lorena ISD	white	77.4%	1,766
Mart ISD	white	48%	533
Mcgregor ISD	Hispanic	44.8%	1,494
Midway ISD	white	54.2%	8,434
Moody ISD	white	52.6%	688
Rapoport Academy Public School	Hispanic	46.4%	855
Riesel ISD	white	70.6%	623
Robinson ISD	white	61.6%	2,403
Valley Mills ISD	white	67.9%	620
Waco Charter School	Hispanic	72%	193
Waco ISD	Hispanic	60.8%	14,086
West ISD	white	76.1%	1,239