DeKalb Times

There were 1,980 Black students enrolled in DeKalb County school districts in the 2023-24 school year, 2.5% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data showed that Black students made up 12.3% of the 16,041 students in the county. They were the third most represented ethnicity.

Among the eight districts in DeKalb County, DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 1,801 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with DeKalb County.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

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.

District	Black Student Enrollment Percentage	Total enrollment
DeKalb Community Unit School District 428	27.5%	6,538
Sycamore Community Unit School District 427	3.7%	3,597
Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424	1.1%	1,488
Indian Creek School District 425	2.1%	727
Sandwich Community Unit School District 430	0.7%	1,824