Brussels High School

Set in Brussels, Illinois, Brussels High School is an one-room-style senior high, operated by Brussels CUSD 42. It enrolls 42 students across grades 7 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 834 students per school, that is 95% below typical.

Brussels CUSD 42 runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 109 students. Brussels High School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Brussels High School lists that 88% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder is composed of 7% Hispanic, 2% Black.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Brussels High School has 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 5.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Brussels High School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 33% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), On a poverty-adjusted basis, Brussels High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 52.3%; actual is 34.0%, a gap of -18.3 points.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Calhoun County indicate median household income runs about $93,203, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Calhoun County runs 4 public schools (combined enrollment of about 616 students), of which Brussels High School is one.

The closest other public school is Brussels Grade School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Brussels High School at 5th of 7; the average score across the group is 42.0%.

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

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 45%: 77 students in 2018 compared to 42 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 92% to 88%. Class-load math has fell: from 7.3:1 in 2018 to 5.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Brussels High School typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.