Bartelso Elem School, Bartelso IL

Original Research by School Decision on Bartelso Elem School

Bartelso Elementary School serves about 170 students across pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in a small, rural village in Clinton County, southern Illinois. The school sits at the social heart of Bartelso, which is a close-knit agricultural community with deep German-Catholic roots centered on St. Cecilia Parish. The local economy relies on small trades, services, and farms rather than large employers; the village itself is compact, with the school, church, and post office clustered near Washington Street.

The student body is entirely white, and the school sits in a distant rural setting. Enrollment is stable and small, with classes ranging from about a dozen students in upper elementary through the low twenties in other grades. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so a family will want to check directly with the school about economic need in the district. The school serves as the sole K-8 provider in its district, meaning students typically continue there through eighth grade before moving on to high school elsewhere.

In English language arts, the school shows strength. Grades six through eight all test above eight in ten proficiency, with grade eight reaching nearly full proficiency. Third grade is lower, around seven in ten, but the trajectory climbs steadily across the elementary and middle grades. Math tells a different story: third grade is very strong at nearly four in five proficiency, but fourth grade dips sharply to around six in ten. Fifth grade reaches just over half, which is notably below state proficiency expectations. Performance recovers somewhat in sixth and seventh grade, landing in the upper six and seven in ten range, and eighth grade holds steady around seven in ten. Science results are limited to grades five and eight. Grade five at around six in ten is modest; grade eight rebounds to nearly nine in ten.

Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Clinton County districts, a meaningful position for a rural school of this size. The data flags a caution: test-score comparability across years changed because Illinois revised its proficiency cut scores, so year-to-year trend analysis is not safe to compute. The school participates fully in state testing.

The village and school face the quiet realities of rural life. Housing values in the surrounding area are well below state and national benchmarks, reflecting the rural character and limited urban-adjacent premium. No major new development is underway. Carlyle Lake, a short drive to the northeast, offers outdoor recreation, and the county seat of Carlyle is nearby. The school is genuinely embedded in the community rather than separated from it.

The district brief search found no recent major referendums, tax changes, or curriculum overhauls to report. A parent moving to or already in Bartelso will find a small school where the English program runs well and middle grades perform solidly, but where elementary math, particularly in fourth and fifth grades, represents a softer area. The school's top-quartile standing among county peers reflects real strength, though that comparison comes from a small set of rural districts. A family considering this school should see the principal about what support exists for students working below proficiency in math, and what grade-level grouping and classroom composition look like at enrollment.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 394%

School 94% · District 94%

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 23 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 774%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 695%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 795%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 896%

School 96% · District 96%

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 886%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

This schoolBartelso SD 57, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.