A-C Central Middle School

As a tiny middle-grades school in Ashland, Illinois, A-C Central Middle School hosts 89 students from grades 5 through 8, overseen by A-C Central CUSD 262. Enrollment runs roughly 81% below the state mean of about 462.

A-C Central CUSD 262 runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 314 students. A-C Central Middle School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, A-C Central Middle School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (94%). The remainder is composed of 4% multiracial. That is considerably more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 75%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, A-C Central Middle School has 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.3:1. The state averages around 13.0:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 42% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Cass County (around 69%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, A-C Central Middle School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 47.5%; this one comes in at 29.0%, -18.5 points off the demographic line.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Cass County indicate median household income runs about $68,125, about 21% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Cass County runs 8 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,352 students), of which A-C Central Middle School is one.

A-C Central High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts A-C Central Middle School at 7th of 7; the average score across the group is 44.1%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Trend over the last 7 years. A-C Central Middle School's enrollment has fell 27% since 2018, when it stood at 122 (now 89).

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.