Springfield City Wire

There were 5,425 African American students enrolled in Hampden County districts in the 2022-23 school year, 1.3% less than the previous year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Data showed that Hampden County districts welcomed a total of 61,901 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American pupils comprised 8.8% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county districts.

Among the 14 districts in Hampden County, Springfield Public Schools recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 4,174 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Hampden 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
Agawam Public Schools	2.3%	3,457
Chicopee Public Schools	5.3%	6,710
East Longmeadow Public Schools	4%	2,541
Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District	3.2%	2,859
Holyoke Public Schools	3.6%	4,943
Longmeadow Public Schools	3.2%	2,778
Ludlow Public Schools	1.7%	2,271
Monson Public Schools	1%	821
Palmer Public School District	1.9%	1,134
Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School District	1.9%	640
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District	1.1%	1,322
Springfield Public Schools	17.6%	23,721
West Springfield Public Schools	4.4%	3,868
Westfield Public Schools	2%	4,836