Brussels Grade School

Brussels Grade School operates as a minimally staffed elementary school in Brussels, Illinois, operated by Brussels CUSD 42. Current enrollment sits at 67 students spanning grades K through 7. Enrollment runs roughly 82% smaller than the state mean of about 381.

Brussels CUSD 42 comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 109 students; Brussels Grade School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Brussels Grade School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (90%). Beyond that, the school lists 4% Black, 4% multiracial.

On the resource side, The school reports having 6 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.0:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 33% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Brussels Grade School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 52.6%; this one comes in at 33.8%, -18.8 points off the demographic line.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Calhoun County indicate median household income runs about $93,203, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Calhoun County runs 4 public schools (combined enrollment of about 616 students), of which Brussels Grade School is one.

The closest other public school is Brussels High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Brussels Grade School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 42.0%.

Brussels Grade School operates from a countryside location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Brussels Grade School's enrollment has ticked up 40% since 2018, when it stood at 48 (now 67). Over the same period, the Hispanic share decreased from 6% to 1%. Class-load math has grew: from 8.7:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.