Original Research by School Decision on Don D Shute Elem School
Don D Shute Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through second grade in East Peoria, a small suburb across the Illinois River from Peoria. The school sits in a setting shaped by decades of industrial redevelopment and is now in an area seeing growth in residential housing alongside commercial anchors.
The enrollment is small, distributed fairly evenly across the four grades served. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful representation of students from multiracial families, and smaller numbers from Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander backgrounds. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status were not available from the school's public reporting, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the demographics of need and support services.
State academic testing does not apply to this grade band. Illinois does not administer standardized assessments to pre-K and early elementary students in the way it does at higher grades, so no proficiency or achievement data exists for comparison. This is standard across the state and does not reflect on the school's instructional quality; it simply means a parent cannot draw on state test scores to evaluate the school. A parent interested in early-literacy or numeracy outcomes would need to speak with the school about its approach to reading and math instruction in these foundational years, and whether it tracks individual student progress through its own assessments.
The school is a regular public school operated by East Peoria School District 86, which serves the city and surrounding area. In late 2024, the district held its property tax levy flat despite rising property assessments in Tazewell County, an action that is expected to lower the school-district portion of homeowners' property tax bills going forward. Since school districts typically account for the largest share of Illinois property tax bills, this is a concrete financial factor for families considering a move to the area.
East Peoria itself is a car-dependent suburb with low walkability; daily life centers on driving to commercial corridors rather than pedestrian neighborhoods. Housing values in the area are moderate and have risen notably in recent years. The city is actively developing the Levee District, a mixed-use area built on former Caterpillar manufacturing land, with new multifamily residential projects underway. Major regional employers include healthcare systems, Caterpillar, and the riverfront casino and hotel; Illinois Central College operates a campus in the city. Parks and recreation facilities include over acres of parkland with river access, and the EastSide Centre sports complex recently received investment in turf fields.
The school's grade span—serving only the earliest grades—means it feeds into other elementary buildings as children progress. A parent choosing Don D Shute should understand it as an entry point into the district's overall structure and ask about the transition pathways and continuity of curriculum across grade bands.
See more original research from School Decision →