Waterloo Times

There were 24 Black students enrolled in Buchanan County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 14.3% 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, Black students comprised 0.8% of the student body to be the fourth represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 16 schools in the county, Jesup Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of nine 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 Black Students	Black Students Count	Total School Enrollment
Jesup Elementary School	Jesup Comm	2.8%	9	326
Independence Junior Senior High School	Independence Comm	0.7%	5	724
East Buchanan High School	East Buchanan Comm	1.7%	3	179
West Elementary School	Independence Comm	0.8%	3	371
East Buchanan Middle School	East Buchanan Comm	1.2%	1	86
Jesup High School	Jesup Comm	0.3%	1	288
Jesup Middle School	Jesup Comm	0.4%	1	243
Fairbank Elementary School	Wapsie Valley Comm	0.6%	1	175
East Buchanan Elementary School	East Buchanan Comm	0%	0	282
East Elementary School	Independence Comm	0%	0	281
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