Tyler Reporter

There were 615 Asian students enrolled in Smith County districts in the 2021-22 school year, 1% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Smith County districts welcomed 39,344 students during 2021-22 school year. Among them, Asian students comprised 1.6% of the student body to be the third least represented ethnicity in the county districts.

Among the 10 districts in Smith County, Tyler ISD recorded the highest enrollment of Asian students in 2021-22 school year, with a total of 248 students.

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

The Texas education system is currently torn between public schools and taxpayer-funded private schools.

Critics argue that private schools use funds that should go to the public school system, while private school advocates claim they’re offering better education for more Texas students.

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	% of Asian Students	Total Enrollment
Tyler ISD	1.4	18,148
Whitehouse ISD	3	4,906
Lindale ISD	1.5	4,268
Chapel Hill ISD	0.6	3,397
Bullard ISD	0.5	2,791
Cumberland Academy	3.7	1,926
Winona ISD	0.5	1,078
Troup ISD	0.5	1,053
ARP ISD	0.4	924
Ut Tyler University Academy	4.1	853