The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wilmington Middle School
Wilmington Middle School serves grades six through eight in a small Will County city along the Kankakee River, about fifty to sixty miles southwest of Chicago. The school has an enrollment of roughly two hundred seventy students, with a racial composition that is substantially white, and modest representation of Hispanic and Asian students. Detailed demographic breakdowns by free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and special populations were not available in the data.
The school's academic performance shows a clear split between English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency rates are strong across all three grades, ranging from about seventy percent to just above seventy-seven percent. In mathematics, performance is considerably lower. Sixth-grade math proficiency sits around thirty-five percent, seventh grade rises to about forty-four percent, and eighth grade falls back to about thirty-five percent. The school administered science assessment only in eighth grade, where just over half of students met proficiency. State testing data for grades below sixth were not available, as Illinois does not assess those grades.
The picture that emerges is of a school where ELA instruction appears to be working well for most students but where math support and instruction warrant careful examination. A parent considering this school, particularly one with a child who struggles in mathematics, may want to look into what supports exist for students below proficiency in that subject, what the instructional approach is, and whether there are tutoring or intervention structures in place. The relatively low eighth-grade math result, after a modest seventh-grade uptick, could suggest challenges in the upper grades or in student engagement with more abstract material.
Wilmington itself is a mixed town experiencing growth. A large logistics center along Interstate 55 brings industrial employment, while the compact downtown along the Kankakee River has a historic character anchored by locally owned shops and antique stores. A new residential community called Prairie Farms is under development. Housing values in the area have risen modestly year over year. The city sits about fifteen miles south of Joliet and has no commuter rail service in town; the nearest stations are about seventeen miles away. Downtown is walkable; the rest of the city is car-dependent.
The school is part of Wilmington CUSD 209U. No major curriculum, pedagogical, or tax-related changes were found in district reporting over the last several years. The district completed a significant capital renovation program in the early 2000s that included renovation of an intermediate school and construction of a new high school; no recent major initiatives were documented.
Among the districts in Will County, Wilmington Middle School's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint of the county's schools. This suggests the school is performing comparably to or better than many of its neighboring district schools, despite the math proficiency concerns at individual grade levels. Graduation rate data do not apply to a middle school, and chronic absenteeism data were not reported.
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