Central High School

As a heavily attended 9-12 campus in Burilngton, Illinois, Central High School serves 1,575 students from grades 9 through 12, run under Central CUSD 301. That puts it 89% above the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 834 students.

Within Central CUSD 301, which oversees 7 schools and 5,082 students, Central High School is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Central High School reports that White students make up the majority at 59%. Other groups include 20% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 4% multiracial, 2% Black. Compared to Kane County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the resource side, On paper, Central High School has 85 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.4:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 17% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Kane County runs at roughly 48%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Central High School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 61.7%, the actual is 52.4%, a residual of -9.2 points.

Around the school, Kane County reports that median household income runs about $103,163, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Kane County's 167 public schools (combined enrollment of about 87,252 students), Central High School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Howard B Thomas Grade School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around Central High School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Central High School at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 59.1%.

The campus sits in a rural setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Central High School has climbed 46%, going from 1,078 students in 2018 to 1,575 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 65% to 59% across the same window. Class-load math has loosened: from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 18.4:1 in 2025.

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