NW Illinois News

There were 109 Black students enrolled in Whiteside County school districts in the 2022-23 school year, 3.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 1.3% of the 8,210 students in the county. They were the second least represented ethnicity at the time.

Among the nine districts in Whiteside County, Sterling Community Unit School District 5 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 61 students.

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

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.

District	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Sterling Community Unit School District 5	1.9%	3,184
Rock Falls Elementary School District 13	2.2%	837
Rock Falls Township High School District 301	2.9%	547
Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Community Unit School District 3	1.9%	753