Millbrook Junior High School, Newark IL

Original Research by School Decision on Millbrook Junior High School

Millbrook Junior High School serves students in grades five through eight in Newark, a small, rural village in southwestern Kendall County. The school draws from a relatively tight geographic area—the district, Newark CCSD 66, operates only two buildings, an elementary school and this junior high—and the enrollment is small, with fewer than a hundred fifty students total across the grade span.

The academic picture is mixed and warrants careful attention. In English language arts, the school shows real strength. Grade seven proficiency is very high, and grade eight also performs well. Grade five and six students show solid proficiency rates as well. The math results tell a different story. Fifth-grade math proficiency is respectable, but sixth, seventh, and eighth grades all show substantially lower results—roughly in the low to mid-range. This pattern suggests the math challenge may accelerate as content becomes more abstract and demanding in the middle grades. Science proficiency in grade five is reasonable, though grade eight science proficiency sits at about the midpoint.

State testing data for grades three and four are not available; the school serves those grades but they fall outside the grade bands where Illinois administers its state assessments.

When placed against other districts in Kendall County, Millbrook's overall proficiency index sits above the median. That positioning reflects the strength in English language arts, but a parent evaluating the school may want to look into the math trajectory more closely—specifically, what supports are in place for sixth through eighth graders in that subject and whether the new curriculum being rolled out district-wide is intended to address this gap.

The district implemented a new K-8 curriculum in 2024-25 following state report card results that showed math performance below the state average. That change is recent and directly affects instruction at Millbrook. The district also brought on new junior high staffing as part of that adjustment. A parent considering this school would benefit from asking the building principal directly about how the new curriculum is being received so far, whether math intervention structures are in place, and what early data suggests about student progress.

The school's student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share identifying as Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or multiracial. The free-and-reduced-price-lunch rate was not available in the data, so a fuller picture of the economic context of Millbrook's enrollment would need to come from the school or district directly.

Graduation rate data do not apply, as the school serves only grades five through eight and does not send students directly to a high school; those students move on to a high school in the district system or neighboring districts. No data on special education enrollment, English learner population, chronic absenteeism, or discipline were provided.

Newark itself is a peaceful rural community with a small-town feel and plenty of open space, sitting at roughly four square miles and centered on Illinois Route 71. The housing market shows modest growth, with a median home price somewhat above the Illinois state benchmark and new construction occurring around the village, though growth remains slow. Families here tend to be car-dependent; there is no fixed-route public transit, and civic life centers on the village government, the local library, and nearby county forest preserves.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 82%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 796%

School 96% · District 96%

▲ 45 pts above state median

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 78%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 16 pts above state median

This schoolNewark CCSD 66, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income58%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income37%19 pp gap