The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Sumner Attendance Center
Sumner Attendance Center is a small school serving grades 4 through 6 in Sumner, a declining rural town in southeastern Illinois near the state prison. The school is embedded in the town itself rather than on a campus, sitting at West Locust Street a few blocks from the historic downtown along Christy Avenue. Red Hill Community Unit School District 10 also operates Bridgeport Grade School (serving pre-K through 3) and Red Hill Junior Senior High School (7-12) in neighboring Bridgeport, where the district office is located.
The school's student body is small, about two hundred students across the three grade levels tested. The composition is overwhelmingly white, with very few students from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on free or reduced price lunch eligibility and on special education and English learner populations were not available. Enrollment data by specific demographic subgroup also were not reported.
Academic performance in English language arts is stronger than in mathematics. In grade 4, students show solid proficiency in reading and writing, while math proficiency is more mixed. By grade 5, reading proficiency holds above the midpoint, but math proficiency drops sharply, and science proficiency is low. In grade 6, reading proficiency remains near the midpoint, while math proficiency continues to be weak. Across tested grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint compared to the other district in Lawrence County, though the comparison set is very small. All tested students participated in the state assessments; participation was nearly universal in science as well.
The picture that emerges is a school with relative strength in language arts and a significant gap in mathematics that widens as students progress through fifth grade. A parent might want to look into what interventions or instructional approaches the school has in place to address the drop-off in math performance, particularly in the upper grades served.
Sumner itself is a quiet, slow-declining town with older housing stock and inexpensive property. The dominant local employer is the Lawrence Correctional Center, a state prison that opened in the early 2000s and now houses a maximum-security population. Agriculture remains present in the surrounding farmland. The town lost its oil refining industry in the 1990s and has not experienced significant new residential development. Civic life centers on downtown Christy Avenue, with a newly renovated City Hall, and the school is within walking distance of that core. Red Hills State Park lies just outside town and serves as the major outdoor recreation anchor for the area.
The district has not documented any recent large-scale changes in curriculum, operations, or funding that would reshape the school's trajectory.
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