Penobscot County’s districts student body comprised mostly of white students in 2022-23 school year

The majority of students in Penobscot County districts were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Maine Department of Education.

Of the 20,678 students attending schools in the county, 90.2% were white. Multiracial students were the second most represented ethnic group, making up 3.9% of the total enrollment.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Penobscot County, representing 90.3% of the student body.

Bangor Public Schools had the evenest distribution of races among county districts, with 80.1% white, 7.7% multiracial, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 3.1% African American, 2.6% Asian, 1.2% American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public districts in the county increased by 0.2% when compared to the previous year.

Recent data from Maine’s public schools for the 2023-2024 school year reveal a noticeable growth in Hispanic, Black and multiracial enrollment over the past decade. While over 85% of students still identify as white, this shows a slow but steady increase in diversity within the state schools.

Despite these shifts, Maine’s public school enrollment remains about 4% below pre-pandemic levels, despite a slight rebound from the sharp drop during the 2020-21 school year. The decline is partly due to an increase in homeschooling and more students completing high school early through college courses and adult education.

A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education also mentioned in an interview with Maine Public some other pandemic-related factors persist, with “some parents choosing not to enroll younger children in school and older students who took on jobs to support their families during the pandemic and who are still counted on to provide that support.”