Enrollment
262
Elementary
DISTRICT 319 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FREEPORT SD 145·NCES 171590001897
Center Elementary School
718 E Illinois St, Freeport, IL 61032 · (815) 232-0480 · Stephenson County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL262 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
161 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 44 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 27 | 10% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 40 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 44 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 58 | 22% |
This year's kindergarten class (27) is 53% smaller than its 4th grade class (58).
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Freeport SD 145. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
44.8%
IL avg 51.0% . +12.1pp since 2023
Math
48.6%
IL avg 37.9% . +10.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 44.8% | 48.6% |
| 2023-24 | 32.7% | 37.8% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
43.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.0%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Center Elementary School
Center Elementary School's state test result (43.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center Elementary School this school | 262 | 61.5% | 43.8% |
| Shabbona Elementary School Bourbonnais | 290 | 64.5% | 39.5% |
| Lovejoy Elementary School Alton | 230 | 61.3% | N/A |
| Empire Elementary School Freeport | 295 | 66.4% | 10.5% |
| Douglas Elementary School Belleville | 233 | 62.2% | 41.0% |
| Lewis & Clark Elementary School Godfrey | 251 | 57.4% | N/A |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Center Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Stephenson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.8% | #798 of 1,925 | #4 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #708 of 2,077 ▼ 117 | #3 of 9 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #1,189 of 2,077 ▼ 122 | #4 of 9 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 262 | #1,758 of 2,419 | #7 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #567 of 2,035 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.0% | #194 of 2,042 | #3 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.5% | #960 of 2,132 | #3 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.4% | #1,122 of 1,461 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
262
-55 (-17%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 360
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 262 | 21.8 | 12.1:1 | 61% (161) |
| 2023-24 | 223 | 22 | 10.1:1 | 68% (152) |
| 2022-23 | 248 | 17 | 14.6:1 | 60% (148) |
| 2020-21 | 317 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 280 | 20 | 14.0:1 | 64% (179) |
| 2015-16 | 276 | 20 | 13.8:1 | 69% (191) |
| 2010-11 | 295 | 25 | 11.8:1 | 72% (211) |
| 2000-01 | 319 | 24 | 13.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 360 | 23 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Center Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (280 to 262); teachers up 9% (20 to 21.8).
About Center Elementary School
Center Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Freeport, Illinois. The school serves 262 students in pre-K through 4 in 2024-25. For comparison, elementary schools in Illinois average about 381 students.
Center Elementary School is in Freeport SD 145, a district with 3,703 students across 8 schools.
White students are the largest group at Center Elementary School, with 45% of enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 25% Black, 17% multiracial, and 12% Hispanic. The White share of the county population is higher, at 80%. Center Elementary School has a diversity index of 69%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school has about 12.1 students per teacher and 21.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That ratio is under the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 61%. That is higher than the 50% average for public schools in Stephenson County.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Center Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Illinois schools: 43.8% actual against 36.0% predicted.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Stephenson County show that median household income is about $64,043, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 23 public schools in Stephenson County, with a combined enrollment of about 6,092.
The school nearest to Center Elementary School is Blackhawk Elementary School, at a distance of about 0.9 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, 7 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Center Elementary School is 2nd among 9 schools close by.
NCES describes the area around Center Elementary School as Town: Distant, meaning in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Center Elementary School had 317 students in 2020-21 and 262 in 2024-25, a 17% decrease.
Community posts for Center Elementary School can cover sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Stephenson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
43,768
Census ACS
Median income
$64,043
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
23
6,092 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Freeport SD 145
- Freeport High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Freeport Middle SchoolMiddle · 515 students
- Carl Sandburg Middle SchoolMiddle · 430 students
- Blackhawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Jones-Farrar Intl BaccalaureateElementary · 350 students
- Lincoln-Douglas Elementary SchoolElementary · 325 students
Other schools in Freeport
- Freeport High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Freeport Middle SchoolMiddle · 515 students
- Carl Sandburg Middle SchoolMiddle · 430 students
- Blackhawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Jones-Farrar Intl BaccalaureateElementary · 350 students
- Lincoln-Douglas Elementary SchoolElementary · 325 students
Other Center Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 6 states are named Center Elementary. Center Elementary School is the 8th largest of the 8.
- Center Elementary SchoolTewksbury, MA · 812 students
- Center ElementaryFairfield, CA · 640 students
- Center ElementaryHanover, MA · 582 students
- Center Elementary SchoolChelmsford, MA · 480 students
- Center Elementary SchoolCENTER, TX · 476 students
Nearby schools
- Blackhawk Elementary School0.9 mi · 361
- Freeport High School1.1 mi · 1,165
- Freeport Middle School1.1 mi · 515
- Empire Elementary School2.0 mi · 295
- Carl Sandburg Middle School2.4 mi · 430
- Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School2.6 mi · 325
Frequently asked questions
About Center Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Center Elementary School?
Center Elementary School enrolls approximately 262 students in grades PK-04.
What age range does Center Elementary School serve?
Center Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Center Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Center Elementary School is approximately 12.1:1 (22 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Center Elementary School?
At Center Elementary School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 12% Hispanic, 25% Black, 0% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Who oversees Center Elementary School?
Center Elementary School is overseen by Freeport SD 145 in Stephenson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.