Rock Island Today

There were 1,664 white students enrolled in Mercer County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 3% less than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that white students made up 91% of the 1,828 students during the 2023-24 school year. They were the most represented ethnicity in the county schools.

Among the seven schools in Mercer County, Mercer County High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 355 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
Mercer County High School	92.4%	384
Apollo Elementary School	89.4%	341
Mercer County Junior High School	90.7%	268
Winola Elementary School	91.3%	252
Sherrard Elementary School	89.7%	234
Matherville Intermediate School	89.9%	189
New Boston Elementary School	94.4%	160