South DSM News

There were 4,678 white students enrolled in Marion County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.4% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Marion County welcomed 5,195 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 90% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 16 schools in the county, Pella High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 689 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 white Students	white Students Count	Total School Enrollment
Pella High School	Pella Comm	87.1%	689	791
Jefferson Intermediate School	Pella Comm	91.2%	458	502
Knoxville High School	Knoxville Comm	90.1%	453	503
Madison Elementary School	Pella Comm	88.9%	367	413
Pleasantville Elementary School	Pleasantville Comm	94.8%	363	383
Pella Middle School	Pella Comm	87.9%	319	363
West Elementary School	Knoxville Comm	91.3%	315	345
Northstar Elementary School	Knoxville Comm	87.4%	299	342
Knoxville Middle School	Knoxville Comm	90.4%	293	324
Lincoln Elementary School	Pella Comm	87%	228	262
Pleasantville High School	Pleasantville Comm	91%	223	245
Twin Cedars Elementary School	Twin Cedars Comm	94.2%	145	154
Melcher-Dallas High School	Melcher-Dallas Comm	96.6%	140	145
Twin Cedars Junior-Senior High School	Twin Cedars Comm	87.4%	139	159
Melcher-Dallas Elementary School	Melcher-Dallas Comm	98.6%	136	138
Pleasantville Middle School	Pleasantville Comm	88.1%	111	126