NW Illinois News

There were 860 Black students enrolled in Stephenson County County schools in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education report.

Data showed that Black students made up 15.1% of the 5,709 students during the 2022-23 school year. They were the second most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 20 schools in Stephenson County County, Freeport High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in 2022-23 school year, with a total of 229 students.

In 2022, Illinois had 1,925,415 students enrolled in a total of 3,977 schools. There were 130,467 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting demographic changes. Combined public and private K-12 enrollment dropped 3% between the 2019-20 and 2020–21 school years (60,900 students), far more than the typical 0.5% to 1.5% annual enrollment declines in Illinois over the last 5 years.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Freeport High School	23.1	992
Freeport Middle School	26.7	476
Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School	38.8	286
Carl Sandburg Middle School	25.1	390
Empire Elementary School	26.6	319
Jones-Farrar, an International Baccalaureate World School	24.8	326
Black Hawk Elementary School	22.4	303
Center Elementary School	24.7	247
Lena-Winslow Elementary School	0	398
Lena-Winslow High School	0	244
Lena-Winslow Junior High School	0	164
Dakota Elementary School	0	390
Dakota Junior Senior High School	0	361
Orangeville Elementary School	0	149
Orangeville High School	0	94
Orangeville Junior High School	0	74
Pearl City Elementary School	0	203
Pearl City High School	0	134
Pearl City Junior High School	0	80
German Valley Grade School	0	79