NW Illinois News

The majority of students in Stephenson County schools were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 5,709 students attending Stephenson County schools, 62.9% were white. African American students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 15.1% of Stephenson County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Stephenson County, representing 63.7% of the student body.

Freeport High School had the most diverse student body in Stephenson County, including Asian, African American, Hispanic, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 1.5% compared to the previous year.

In the 2021-22 school year, Illinois had roughly 1.9 million students enrolled across approximately schools. There were more than 130,000 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Illinois has increased its state funding for public schools by $350 million, bringing the total to $8.6 billion for the upcoming year. This is in line with a 2017 law aiming to provide adequate funding to all schools by 2027.

However, experts suggest that this goal may be delayed unless education funding jumps to at least $550 million. According to a Center for Tax and Budget Accountability report, there’s currently a funding gap of about $2.3 billion.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Black Hawk Elementary School	Hispanic	35.6%	303
Carl Sandburg Middle School	White	40%	390
Center Elementary School	White	41.7%	247
Dakota Elementary School	White	92.8%	390
Dakota Junior Senior High School	White	92.5%	361
Empire Elementary School	White	43.6%	319
Freeport High School	White	48%	992
Freeport Middle School	White	43.1%	476
German Valley Grade School	White	96.2%	79
Jones-Farrar, an International Baccalaureate World School	White	49.1%	326
Lena-Winslow Elementary School	White	88.9%	398
Lena-Winslow High School	White	89.8%	244
Lena-Winslow Junior High School	White	93.3%	164
Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School	White	40.6%	286
Orangeville Elementary School	White	96.6%	149
Orangeville High School	White	93.6%	94
Orangeville Junior High School	White	91.9%	74
Pearl City Elementary School	White	83.3%	203
Pearl City High School	White	88.1%	134
Pearl City Junior High School	White	83.8%	80