SE Iowa News

There were 2,003 students enrolled in Jefferson County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.7% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 53% identified as male and 47% as female.

Data also showed that white students made up 84% of the student body, the largest percentage in Jefferson County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 6.2%, 4.8% multiracial, 3.2% Asian, 1.5% Black and 0.2% Native American.

Fairfield High School had the highest enrollment among Jefferson County’s six schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 445 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.

Rank	School name	School district	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
1	Fairfield High School	Fairfield Comm	476	445	-6.5%
2	Fairfield Middle School	Fairfield Comm	438	418	-4.6%
3	Pence Elementary School	Fairfield Comm	333	339	1.8%
4	Pekin Elementary School	Pekin Comm	311	304	-2.3%
5	Pekin Community Junior/ Senior High School	Pekin Comm	291	287	-1.4%
6	Washington Elementary School	Fairfield Comm	209	210	0.5%