NW Illinois News

There were 81 Black students enrolled in Lee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 17.4% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 2.2% of the 3,719 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the least represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 13 schools in Lee County, Washington Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 20 students.

As of the 2023-24 school year, Illinois public schools enrolled approximately 1.85 million students across nearly 4,000 schools. There was roughly one teacher for every 15 students, slightly better than the national average of 1:16.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School name	% of Black students enrolment	Total enrollment
Washington Elementary School	4.7%	426
Reagan Middle School	3.2%	569
Jefferson Elementary School	4.9%	326
Madison School	4.2%	360
Dixon High School	1.7%	705
Steward Elementary School	0%	56
Paw Paw Elementary School	0%	94
Amboy Central Elementary School	0%	270
Amboy High School	0%	226
Amboy Junior High School	0%	203
Ashton-Franklin Center Elementary School	0%	246
Ashton-Franklin Center High School	0%	210
Paw Paw Junior High School	0%	28