Cedar Rapids Today

There were 37 Black students enrolled in Benton County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 19.4% more than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Benton County welcomed 3,656 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 1% of the student body to be the fourth represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 12 schools in the county, Tilford 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
Tilford Elementary School	Vinton-Shellsburg Comm	1.9%	9	479
Benton Community Senior High School	Benton Comm	1%	5	490
Atkins Elementary School	Benton Comm	1.3%	4	302
Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School	Belle Plaine Comm	1.5%	3	203
Benton Community Middle School	Benton Comm	1.4%	3	212
Norway Elementary School	Benton Comm	0.9%	3	341
Vinton-Shellsburg High School	Vinton-Shellsburg Comm	0.7%	3	406
Shellsburg Elementary School	Vinton-Shellsburg Comm	0.9%	2	225
Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School	Vinton-Shellsburg Comm	0.6%	2	337
Longfellow Elementary School	Belle Plaine Comm	0.4%	1	259
Keystone Elementary School	Benton Comm	0.8%	1	127
Center Point-Urbana Intermediate School	Center Point-Urbana Comm	0.4%	1	275