Waterloo Times

There were 79 Hispanic students enrolled in Buchanan County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 14.5% more than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Buchanan County welcomed 3,116 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 2.5% of the student body to be the third represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 16 schools in the county, Independence Junior Senior High School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 26 students.

Public school enrollment in Iowa remained relatively stable in the 2024-25 school year, with 480,665 students, a slight decrease of 0.63% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, enrollment in accredited nonpublic schools grew by nearly 10%, reaching 39,356 students, up from 36,195. This increase was partially driven by the Students First Education Savings (ESA) program, with 27,866 students utilizing ESAs at nonpublic schools.

School Name	School District	% of Hispanic Students	Hispanic Students Count	Total School Enrollment
Independence Junior Senior High School	Independence Comm	3.6%	26	724
West Elementary School	Independence Comm	5.1%	19	371
East Elementary School	Independence Comm	3.9%	11	281
Jesup Middle School	Jesup Comm	2.1%	5	243
East Buchanan Elementary School	East Buchanan Comm	1.4%	4	282
East Buchanan High School	East Buchanan Comm	2.2%	4	179
Jesup Elementary School	Jesup Comm	1.2%	4	326
Jesup High School	Jesup Comm	1.4%	4	288
Fairbank Elementary School	Wapsie Valley Comm	1.1%	2	175
East Buchanan Middle School	East Buchanan Comm	0%	0	86
Perry #1 Elementary School	Jesup Comm	0%	0	27
Prairie Grove Elementary School	Jesup Comm	0%	0	22
Triumph Elementary School	Jesup Comm	0%	0	39
Rural Elementary School #1	Wapsie Valley Comm	0%	0	27
Rural Elementary School #2	Wapsie Valley Comm	0%	0	28
Rural Elementary School #4	Wapsie Valley Comm	0%	0	18