Gianna Liao sits in the auditorium Monday during graduation practice at Tyner Academy.
FAST FACTAs of October, Hamilton County Schools enrolled students from 45 countries. Students across the county spoke more than 75 languages.Source: Hamilton County ESOL Department
It’s not just black and white anymore.
In Hamilton County Schools, the makeup of classrooms is changing rapidly. While the share of black students hasn’t changed in 15 years, the number of minority students is booming.
No longer do teachers look out and see almost exclusively African-Americans and Caucasians. There are now students from Bosnia, South Sudan and Vietnam, among dozens of other nations. But much of the change is driven by Hispanic and Latino students.
In 2000, the school district was about 65 percent white. Now it’s 58 percent white.