NW Illinois News

There were 62 Black students enrolled in Whiteside 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 0.8% of the 8,031 students during the 2022-23 school year. They were the second least represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 26 schools in Whiteside County County, Sterling High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in 2022-23 school year, with a total of 23 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
Sterling High School	2.3	1,000
Rock Falls Township High School	2.9	547
Challand Middle School	1.7	691
Jefferson Elementary School	2.6	429
Lincoln Elementary School	0	312
Southside School	0	209
River Bend Middle School	0	210
Rock Falls Middle School	0	231
Dillon Elementary School	0	239
Washington Elementary School	0	371
Franklin Elementary School	0	381
Fulton Elementary School	0	399
Fulton High School	0	266
Northside School	0	248
East Coloma - Nelson Elementary School	0	212
Erie Elementary School	0	239
Erie High School	0	180
Erie Middle School	0	174
Tampico Elementary School	0	158
Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School	0	161
Prophetstown Elementary School	0	236
Prophetstown High School	0	198
Merrill Elementary School	0	238
Montmorency School	0	202
Morrison High School	0	286
Morrison Junior High School	0	214