The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Grand Prairie Elem School
Grand Prairie Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade in rural Centralia, in south-central Illinois. It is a small school, with fewer than one hundred students spread across nine grades. The enrollment is predominantly white, with a few students of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status were not available.
The school sits on the edge of Centralia, a working-class city of roughly mid-sized population that has been declining over recent decades but is experiencing some revitalization through downtown apartment conversions, local entrepreneurship, and infrastructure investment. The regional employer base includes SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital, manufacturing in the industrial park, Kaskaskia College, and state-operated facilities. Housing values in the area are below the state average, making it an affordable market for families seeking homeownership. Parks, a library, and a community center with an indoor pool anchor civic life, and the historic downtown along Broadway hosts a regional carillon and cultural events.
On state testing, Grand Prairie Elementary's results are quite low. In the most recent year for which data are available, the school reported results from only two grade levels. In grade five, fewer than one in ten students met proficiency in mathematics, and roughly three in ten met proficiency in English language arts. In science, at grade five, fewer than one in five students were proficient. Results for other grade levels (third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades) were not reported, which may reflect small grade-level cohorts or other data reporting factors. These patterns suggest the school faces substantial academic challenges; a parent may want to look into this further with the school directly, including what support structures are in place for struggling learners and what the school is doing to address gaps.
Among districts in Jefferson County, Grand Prairie Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other schools in the region. The school is not a Title I school and no information about the magnet, charter, or alternative status was found in the data.
No information about staffing, discipline, attendance, or course and program offerings was available. The district brief found no recent major referenda, tax levies, or curricular changes affecting the school.
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