Enrollment Analysis: White students comprised 78.2% of Story County’s student body in 2023-24 school year

McKenzie Snow, Director of Iowa Department of Education | Ballotpedia

By Ames Today

May 20, 2025

There were 8,699 white students enrolled in Story County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.9% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Story County welcomed 11,120 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 78.2% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 25 schools in the county, Ames High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 934 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.

Ethnicities in Story County in 2023-24 School Year

Enrollment Demographics in Story County Schools During 2023-24 School Year

School Name	School District	% of white Students	white Students Count	Total School Enrollment
Ames High School	Ames Comm	65.5%	934	1,427
Ames Middle School	Ames Comm	63.1%	651	1,032
Ballard High School	Ballard Comm	93.9%	519	553
Gilbert High School	Gilbert Comm	87.7%	463	528
Central Elementary School	Nevada Comm	84.5%	462	547
Nevada High School	Nevada Comm	81.7%	411	503
Ballard East Elementary School	Ballard Comm	91.6%	395	431
Ballard West Elementary School	Ballard Comm	90.5%	373	412
Roland-Story Elementary School	Roland-Story Comm	93.5%	371	397
Ballard Middle School	Ballard Comm	89.7%	367	409
Nevada Middle School	Nevada Comm	81%	341	421
Gilbert Middle School	Gilbert Comm	84.2%	340	404
Fellows Elementary School	Ames Comm	61%	316	518
Roland-Story High School	Roland-Story Comm	90.4%	311	344
Gilbert Intermediate School	Gilbert Comm	84.9%	304	358
Gilbert Elementary School	Gilbert Comm	82%	282	344
Meeker Elementary School	Ames Comm	74.5%	272	365
Roland-Story Middle School	Roland-Story Comm	88%	264	300
Sawyer Elementary School	Ames Comm	68.3%	256	375
Edwards Elementary School	Ames Comm	57.9%	254	439
Colo-NESCO Middle/High School	Colo-NESCO Comm	90.9%	199	219
Collins-Maxwell Middle/High School	Collins-Maxwell Comm	87.5%	182	208
Mitchell Elementary School	Ames Comm	56.1%	166	296
Collins-Maxwell Elementary School	Collins-Maxwell Comm	92.1%	151	164
Colo-Nesco Elementary School	Colo-NESCO Comm	91.3%	115	126