Original Research by School Decision on Taylor Ridge Elem School
Taylor Ridge Elementary serves kindergarten through second grade in a small, rural unincorporated community north of Reynolds in Rock Island County. The school has an enrollment of about 140 students distributed fairly evenly across the three grades it serves. The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of Hispanic and multiracial students and no reported enrollment from other racial or ethnic groups.
The school sits in a setting where economic and housing conditions reflect a rural-residential, car-dependent area. Homes in the broader ZIP code area fall into a moderate price range relative to both the state and national medians, with monthly mortgage costs roughly typical for the region. Rents run slightly lower than mortgage payments would suggest, meaning housing is relatively affordable for renters. The local economy centers on small business and agriculture, though many residents commute into the larger Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Quad Cities metro area for work. Growth in the area is slow and suburban in character, driven mostly by people seeking country properties and acreage a short drive from urban employment.
The community itself is quite small and rural. Taylor Ridge has limited walkability or commercial amenities, consisting essentially of a simple main street surrounded by farmland and woods. Loud Thunder Forest Preserve, a county recreation anchor with a lake, trails, and camping, sits nearby in adjacent Illinois City. There is no local public transit; travel is entirely by car. The school district operates from a rural campus model rather than a clustered downtown, with the junior and senior high school based on a separate campus several miles away.
State assessment data for this grade band are not reported because Illinois does not administer state tests in kindergarten through second grade. A graduation rate does not apply. Chronic absenteeism and other school-level outcomes data were not available.
The most significant change ahead is a district consolidation. In November 2024, voters approved a bond referendum (with substantial support) to build a new consolidated PreK-5 elementary school on the existing junior and senior high school campus in Taylor Ridge. The three current elementary schools in Andalusia, Illinois City, and Taylor Ridge will close after the 2026-27 school year, and students will transfer to the single new building when it opens in fall 2027. The new facility will include dedicated art, music, STEM, and PE spaces, modernized safety features, secure entry points, and air conditioning. The district structured the bonds to reissue debt already scheduled to retire, so the project does not raise the existing property tax rate. For families currently enrolled or considering enrollment, this means Taylor Ridge Elementary as it exists will close, and their children will attend the new consolidated campus alongside students from the other two feeder elementary schools. The shift from three small village schools to one larger central facility represents a substantial change in the peer environment and daily experience.
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