The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Washington Academy
Washington Academy is an early-elementary school serving children from pre-K through fifth grade in Belvidere, a small industrial city in Boone County, Illinois. The school enrolls a student body that is mostly Hispanic, with a significant share of white students, and much smaller populations of Asian, Black, and multiracial children. The enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across the grade levels, with slightly fewer fifth-graders than younger children.
Testing results show that the school is struggling with proficiency in core academics. In the most recent state assessments, only about two in five third-graders reached proficiency in math, while about one in four third-graders met the standard in English language arts. Performance declines as grades progress: fourth-grade math proficiency falls to about one in three students, and by fifth grade less than one in five students achieve proficiency in math. Fifth-grade English language arts proficiency sits at somewhat better than one in three, but science proficiency at the fifth-grade level is particularly low, with fewer than one in six students reaching the standard. Across the tested grade levels and subjects, Washington Academy's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Boone County. A parent may want to look into the school's plans for addressing the gaps, particularly in math and science, where proficiency trails most sharply.
The school sits within Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, which faces enrollment pressure that is reshaping the district's footprint. In April 2026 the district closed Perry Elementary School after more than a century of operation, leaving families with children in those grades to apply for placement at other schools including Washington Academy through a lottery process. This consolidation reflects a broader decline in district enrollment over recent years. At the same time, the district has implemented a new cell phone policy beginning in the 2025-26 school year under which elementary students must keep devices in lockers throughout the entire day, a change that alters family communication patterns during school hours.
Belvidere itself is a mixed-character city of roughly 30,000 people sitting on the Kishwaukee River about 75 miles northwest of Chicago. The city's historic downtown core of brick commercial buildings and civic anchors gives way to neighborhoods of older bungalows and Foursquares near the center, then to ranch-style homes and newer subdivisions on the edges. The city's economy has been heavily dependent on the Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) Belvidere Assembly Plant, which idled in early 2023 and eliminated thousands of jobs. However, in October 2025 Stellantis announced a multimillion-dollar investment to reopen the plant in 2027 to build Jeep models, an announcement state and local leaders framed as a major economic turnaround expected to create hundreds of jobs. Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared to regional and national benchmarks. New residential construction has resumed slowly in outlying subdivisions after a period of stalled development, and the city has adopted a downtown façade grant program to encourage owner improvements to historic buildings.
The peer environment at Washington Academy reflects the neighborhood it serves: the school is predominantly Hispanic with a smaller white population and very small shares of other racial and ethnic groups. Income data was not available, but the housing market and broader economic context suggest a working-to-middle-class community with modest resources. The school itself offers the standard early-elementary curriculum without reported specialized programs or magnet designations. For families considering Washington Academy, the core question is how the school is addressing the significant gap between current proficiency levels and state standards, and whether the recent district consolidation and enrollment changes will bring additional resources or further strain to the school's capacity to support student learning.
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