Central Iowa Times

There were 794 students enrolled in Pocahontas County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2.5% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 51% identified as female and 49% as male.

Data also showed that white students made up 79.6% of the student body, the largest percentage in Pocahontas County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 10.7%, 5.5% multiracial, 2.4% Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.3% Black and 0.3% Asian and Native American.

Pocahontas Area Middle/ High School had the highest enrollment among Pocahontas County’s four schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 374 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.

Rank	School name	School district	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
1	Pocahontas Area Middle/ High School	Pocahontas Area Comm	392	374	-4.6%
2	Pocahontas Area Elementary School	Pocahontas Area Comm	283	274	-3.2%
3	Laurens-Marathon Elementary School	Laurens-Marathon Comm	118	128	8.5%
4	Pocahontas Area Regional Learning Center	Pocahontas Area Comm	21	18	-14.3%