Arcola High School

Arcola High School, a tiny high school in Arcola, Illinois, operated by Arcola CUSD 306, enrolls 299 students, covering grades 7 through 12. That puts it 64% leaner than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 834 students.

Arcola CUSD 306 comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 709 students; Arcola High School is among them.

On demographics, Arcola High School records that 51% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school reports 45% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 89%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.1:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 57% of students at Arcola High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Douglas County's rate of about 48%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Arcola High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 38.5%; this one delivers 29.8%.

In the broader community, census data for Douglas County shows median household earnings sit near $77,320, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Douglas County runs 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,780 students), of which Arcola High School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Arcola Elementary School, around 0.0 miles off. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Arcola High School ranks 9th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 41.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 12%: 340 students in 2018 compared to 299 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 13.9:1 in 2018 to 11.1:1 today.

On this page, members of the Arcola High School community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.