Kenwood Elem School, Champaign IL

Original Research by School Decision on Kenwood Elem School

Kenwood Elementary serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Champaign, a university town anchored by the University of Illinois. The school has an enrollment of roughly 370 students across these six grades, with a student body that is racially diverse: roughly equal shares of white and Black students, with smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, and Hispanic students.

State test results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are below the midpoint for this comparison set of county districts. In third-grade mathematics, roughly one-third of students met proficiency standards; in fourth grade, proficiency was similar. By fifth grade, proficiency dropped further in both math and English language arts. In fifth-grade science, about one-third of students met standards. Data for sixth through eighth grades are not reported because Kenwood serves only kindergarten through fifth. The participation rate across tested grades is high, with nearly all students taking the assessments.

The school sits within Champaign CUSD 4, a district that has undergone structural changes in recent years. In 2023, the district implemented a reorganization that converted two schools into prekindergarten through eighth-grade buildings and adjusted school choice boundaries. The district has also adopted a college-readiness framework called AVID across its schools, embedding specific strategies around notetaking, vocabulary, and writing into regular classroom instruction. All three of the district's middle schools have earned AVID National Demonstration School status.

Champaign itself is a growing community with active downtown and campus districts, a strong public library system, and transit provided by the local bus service. Housing costs are moderate relative to national benchmarks. The economy is anchored by education and healthcare, particularly the university and its medical partner, along with manufacturing and logistics operations. Downtown has a mixed residential and commercial character with restaurants, breweries, and cultural spaces, and there has been significant new residential development both near campus and in the downtown area in recent years.

A parent considering Kenwood should look into the school's approach to addressing the gap between current proficiency levels and state standards, particularly in mathematics. The data suggest students are entering the upper elementary grades with foundational skill gaps that widen as grade level increases. Conversely, the school maintains strong assessment participation, indicating stable enrollment and engagement with testing. The district's focus on AVID strategies and college readiness signals a longer-term view toward academic preparation, though parents may want to understand how these initiatives connect to current performance patterns at the elementary level and what support systems are in place for students below proficiency.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 38% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 35% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 28% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 35% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 40% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 38% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 32% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolChampaign CUSD 4, 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.