NW Illinois News

There were 3,091 white students enrolled in Lee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.2% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 83.1% of the 3,719 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the 13 schools in Lee County, Dixon High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 583 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 White students enrolment	Total enrollment
Dixon High School	82.7%	705
Reagan Middle School	81.2%	569
Washington Elementary School	74.6%	426
Madison School	80.6%	360
Jefferson Elementary School	78.5%	326
Amboy Central Elementary School	91.1%	270
Ashton-Franklin Center Elementary School	89.4%	246
Amboy High School	88.9%	226
Ashton-Franklin Center High School	91.4%	210
Amboy Junior High School	87.2%	203
Paw Paw Elementary School	83%	94
Steward Elementary School	76.8%	56
Paw Paw Junior High School	89.3%	28