The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mitchell Elementary School
Mitchell Elementary School is a K-4 building serving just over one thousand students in Granite City, a working-class steel town on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, roughly ten miles northeast of St. Louis. The school teaches third and fourth grade, with a handful of older students also enrolled. The student body is majority white, with substantial Black and Hispanic enrollment and a small Asian presence.
On state math and English language arts tests, Mitchell's results run well below the midpoint of other Granite City CUSD 9 schools. In third-grade math, roughly one in five students scored at proficiency. Fourth grade math rose to about one in four. In fourth-grade English, about one in three students met the standard, compared to lower performance in third grade. Participation rates were near complete. Science assessment data was not reported for grades the school serves; the most recent state science results available are from 2020-21 and are suppressed due to small n. These proficiency rates place Mitchell in the bottom quartile among districts across Madison County.
The school experienced a major structural change in 2025-26 as part of a district reconfiguration. Mitchell now operates as a K-6 elementary school rather than serving only K-4, and attendance boundaries were redrawn. Pre-K programs were also aligned to the same K-6 boundaries, so families are now assigned to a single building path from Pre-K through 8th grade based on address. For parents evaluating the school or district, understanding these boundary changes matters if you are considering the long-term placement of a child or assessing capacity and program continuity.
The district issued substantial working-cash bonds in late 2023 through a non-referendum process, expanding long-term debt without a public ballot vote. The district has publicly committed to absorbing the debt service without raising its tax rate, though a parent may want to look into the district's longer-term fiscal position as enrollment and economic conditions evolve.
Mitchell sits in Granite City's Wilson Park area, where the district has clustered several schools. The wider city is a modest, low-cost housing market with older neighborhoods and limited walkability outside retail strips and downtown. Major employment remains tied to U.S. Steel's Granite City Works mill; the company announced plans in 2026 to restart a blast furnace to meet rising demand. A park district operates fourteen parks, and the Schoolhouse Trail regional bike network connects to downtown St. Louis. Civic revitalization efforts have brought new entertainment and restaurant venues since 2022, particularly downtown and along the Nameoki Road corridor.
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