NW Illinois News

There were 28 Asian students enrolled in Whiteside County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 7.7% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Asian students made up 0.3% of the 8,181 students in the county. They were the least represented ethnicity.

Among the nine districts in Whiteside County, Sterling Community Unit School District 5 recorded the highest enrollment of Asian students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 28 students.

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

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

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.

District	Asian Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
Sterling Community Unit School District 5	0.9%	3,151