The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Math. The lowest is 24% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kingston Elementary School
Kingston Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through second grade in a small rural village in northwestern DeKalb County. The school enrolls a modest population of students, with the grade distribution fairly consistent across kindergarten through second grade and smaller enrollment in pre-K. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic population and small numbers of students from other backgrounds. Demographic breakdowns for free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility and special-population counts (English learners, special education) were not available from the data.
The school sits in Kingston, a low-density rural community of families and professionals, many of whom commute to larger employment centers. Housing values in the area are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, and the local setting is characterized by spaced-out residential properties, older brick homes near the village center, and farmland on the outskirts. Kingston itself has experienced essentially flat or slight population decline over the past several years, and there is no evidence of rapid residential growth; the community remains predominantly small-town and rural.
The most recent state assessment data available is from 2016-17, when third-grade students at Kingston Elementary took the PARCC in mathematics and English language arts. The math results showed proficiency among a meaningful share of tested students, whereas ELA proficiency was lower. When these results are placed against the broader comparison group of districts in DeKalb County, Kingston Elementary's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile, indicating that achievement at the school trails the median performance of tested schools in the county. The data does not include results from more recent school years, so the current academic standing is unclear. The school's tested grades (third grade in 2016-17) do not fully reflect the early-grades focus of the school as constituted now, since Kingston Elementary currently serves only pre-K through grade two and therefore produces no state assessment results.
The district that operates Kingston Elementary, Genoa-Kingston CUSD 424, recently faced a setback with the November 2024 failure of a proposed DeKalb County sales-tax measure intended to fund facility needs, school resource officers, and mental health professionals across county districts. With that revenue source rejected, the district will continue to rely on property-tax revenue and existing budgets for facility maintenance, capital improvements, and staffing in these areas. The district has since posted bids for significant capital work at the high school, signaling ongoing facility needs. For families considering Kingston Elementary, this context means that school improvements and support-service growth will depend on the district's ongoing ability to fund them through local property-tax revenue rather than a broader county tax base.
A parent or resident weighing Kingston Elementary should understand that the school operates as a traditional public elementary school in a rural setting with a small, stable enrollment. The most recent academic data is now roughly a decade old, so direct conversation with the school about current proficiency trends and instructional approaches would be warranted. The community itself is quiet and family-oriented, with outdoor recreation along the nearby Kishwaukee River and forest preserve, though employment and some services require travel to neighboring towns. The school building and programs are funded through district resources that depend fundamentally on local property taxes, a constraint that may shape the scope of facility work and staffing expansion the district can pursue.
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