North Iowa Reporter

There were 259 Black students enrolled in Cerro Gordo County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 7.8% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Cerro Gordo County welcomed 4,988 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 5.2% of the student body to be the third represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 13 schools in the county, Mason City High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 71 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
Mason City High School	Mason City Comm	7.3%	71	967
John Adams Middle School	Mason City Comm	8.6%	40	463
Lincoln Intermediate School	Mason City Comm	6.8%	33	488
Roosevelt Elementary School	Mason City Comm	7.7%	28	365
Harding Elementary School	Mason City Comm	9.4%	23	244
Jefferson Elementary School	Mason City Comm	4.9%	15	307
Hoover Elementary School	Mason City Comm	4.9%	13	264
Alternative School	Mason City Comm	12%	11	92
Clear Creek Elementary School	Clear Lake Comm	1.3%	8	610
Clear Lake Middle School	Clear Lake Comm	2.1%	7	326
Clear Lake High School	Clear Lake Comm	0.9%	4	458
Mason City Virtual Academy	Mason City Comm	4.9%	4	82
West Fork Elementary at Rockwell	West Fork Comm	0.6%	2	322