NW Illinois News

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

Of the 8,031 students attending Whiteside County schools, 71.5% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 20.7% of Whiteside County students.

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Whiteside County, representing 72% of the student body.

Sterling High School had the most diverse student body in Whiteside 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 0.5% 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
Challand Middle School	White	55.9%	691
Dillon Elementary School	White	62.3%	239
East Coloma - Nelson Elementary School	White	82.5%	212
Erie Elementary School	White	93.7%	239
Erie High School	White	93.9%	180
Erie Middle School	White	92.5%	174
Franklin Elementary School	White	64.6%	381
Fulton Elementary School	White	85.2%	399
Fulton High School	White	91.4%	266
Jefferson Elementary School	White	52.7%	429
Lincoln Elementary School	White	52.2%	312
Merrill Elementary School	White	57.1%	238
Montmorency School	White	80.2%	202
Morrison High School	White	86.7%	286
Morrison Junior High School	White	90.2%	214
Northside School	White	91.1%	248
Prophetstown Elementary School	White	87.7%	236
Prophetstown High School	White	88.9%	198
Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School	White	91.3%	161
River Bend Middle School	White	92.4%	210
Rock Falls Middle School	White	58.4%	231
Rock Falls Township High School	White	69.5%	547
Southside School	White	87.1%	209
Sterling High School	White	52.6%	1,000
Tampico Elementary School	White	88%	158
Washington Elementary School	White	57.4%	371