Sioux City Times

There were 129 Black students enrolled in Buena Vista County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 18.9% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Buena Vista County welcomed 4,394 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 2.9% of the student body to be the fifth represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 14 schools in the county, Storm Lake Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 38 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
Storm Lake Elementary School	Storm Lake Comm	4.7%	38	807
Storm Lake High School	Storm Lake Comm	4.2%	34	805
Storm Lake Middle School	Storm Lake Comm	3.7%	31	843
Storm Lake Early Elementary School	Storm Lake Comm	4%	10	247
Alta Elementary School	Alta-Aurelia Comm	2.3%	5	221
Sioux Central High School	Sioux Central Comm	1.5%	4	260
Sioux Central Middle School	Sioux Central Comm	2.8%	4	145
Sioux Central Elementary School	Sioux Central Comm	1%	2	200
Newell-Fonda High School	Newell-Fonda Comm	0.7%	1	139
Albert City-Truesdale Elementary School	Albert City-Truesdale Comm	0%	0	91
Alta-Aurelia High School	Alta-Aurelia Comm	0%	0	199
Newell-Fonda Elementary School	Newell-Fonda Comm	0%	0	255
Newell-Fonda Middle School	Newell-Fonda Comm	0%	0	130
St. Lake/Iowa Cntrl/Buena Vista Early College High School	Storm Lake Comm	0%	0	52