South Elem School, Crystal Lake IL

Original Research by School Decision on South Elem School

South Elem School in Crystal Lake serves kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolls a small elementary-school population spread evenly across its grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic enrollment and smaller Asian and multiracial populations; the school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch status or English learner counts, so a reader cannot assess the economic and language diversity of the enrollment from available data.

The school's most recent state test results from 2024-25 show mixed performance. In English language arts, proficiency is strongest in grade 5, where a clear majority of students met the standard; grade 4 results were above the midpoint, and grade 3 landed in the mid-range. In mathematics, grade 3 pulled ahead, but grades 4 and 5 both fell to below-midpoint proficiency. In science, tested only at grade 5, proficiency was below the midpoint. Overall, South Elem's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in McHenry County, which is a genuine strength, though the school may want to examine why math proficiency declines in the upper elementary grades and why science results lag. All students participated in the state assessments.

The school sits in Crystal Lake, a suburban city about 45 miles northwest of Chicago that mixes a historic walkable downtown Main Street district with car-oriented retail and recreation corridors. The broader community is in active growth, anchored by major mixed-use development and new residential construction, including the Water's Edge project along Route 14, which will bring hundreds of apartments and significant new retail to the area. This is a place with rising housing values and relatively tight market conditions, consistent with suburban growth corridors. The housing profile fits families seeking suburban residential stability with some older lakeside neighborhood character alongside newer townhome and apartment options.

The school's parent district, Crystal Lake CCSD 47, has faced budget pressures. In early 2025, the district announced reduction or transition of about 30 staff positions and planned cuts to elementary band and gifted enrichment staffing to bridge a budget gap following a new teacher contract and uncertain federal funding. Additionally, a significant federal mental health grant was terminated in 2025, eliminating a funding stream for student mental-health services and staffing. These shifts affect the breadth of specialist support and enrichment programming families might have expected, and a parent considering the school may want to check directly with the building about the current status of music and enrichment offerings. The district also redrew middle school attendance boundaries for the 2025-26 school year, which has lasting implications for families' future school assignments if they remain in the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 50% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 42% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 42% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 49% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 59% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 63% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolCrystal Lake CCSD 47, 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.