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Does Challand Middle School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
726
Middle
DISTRICT 542 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·STERLING CUSD 5·NCES 174231004264
Challand Middle School
1700 6th Ave, Sterling, IL 61081 · (815) 626-3300 · Whiteside County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL726 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
63%
456 students
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 244 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 245 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 237 | 33% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · 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
Challand Middle School→Sterling High School
Based on grade levels within Sterling CUSD 5. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
37.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +5.2pp since 2023
Math
26.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +6.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 37.9% | 26.0% |
| 2023-24 | 32.7% | 19.1% |
% 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
32.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 Challand Middle School
Challand Middle School's state test result (32.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challand Middle School this school | 726 | 62.8% | 32.0% |
| Simmons Middle School Oak Lawn | 725 | 61.2% | 42.0% |
| Northbrook School Mendota | 526 | 58.6% | 40.1% |
| John Deere Middle School Moline | 770 | 64.2% | 26.3% |
| H H Conrady Jr High School Hickory Hills | 1,047 | 60.0% | 78.4% |
| Collinsville Middle School Collinsville | 894 | 68.1% | 34.2% |
Matched among Illinois middle 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 Challand Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Whiteside County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.0% | #415 of 578 | #6 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.0% | #409 of 640 ▼ 2 | #5 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.9% | #513 of 640 ▼ 40 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 726 | #121 of 691 | #1 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #508 of 558 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.5% | #195 of 560 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 62.8% | #155 of 581 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.8% | #339 of 440 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle 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
726
-34 (-4%) vs 2020
+13% since 1990-91, when it was 645
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 | 726 | 44 | 16.5:1 | 63% (456) |
| 2023-24 | 718 | 45.8 | 15.7:1 | 59% (423) |
| 2022-23 | 710 | 45.5 | 15.6:1 | 50% (356) |
| 2020-21 | 760 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 771 | 41.4 | 18.6:1 | 61% (470) |
| 2015-16 | 758 | 41 | 18.5:1 | 53% (405) |
| 2010-11 | 795 | 52 | 15.3:1 | 51% (406) |
| 2000-01 | 812 | 51 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 645 | 38 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Challand Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (771 to 726); teachers up 6% (41.4 to 44).
About Challand Middle School
Challand Middle School is a middle-grades school with a street address in Sterling, Illinois. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 726 students in grades 6 through 8. Against the 462-student average for middle schools in Illinois, enrollment here is 57% higher.
Challand Middle School belongs to Sterling CUSD 5, a district of 6 schools and 3,253 students.
At 55%, White students outnumber all other groups at Challand Middle School combined. Other students are 36% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. By comparison, Whiteside County residents are about 85% White. The chance that two students picked at random at Challand Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 56%.
Teachers at the school number 44 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.5:1. The 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois is lower than this school's figure. Roughly 63% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Whiteside County is 55%.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Challand Middle School is 3.3 points below its prediction. Actual: 32.0%. Predicted: 35.3%.
Federal survey data for Whiteside County show that median household income is about $67,500, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. Challand Middle School is among the 50 public schools in Whiteside County.
The nearest other public school, Sterling High School, is about 0.2 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Challand Middle School. Challand Middle School places 7th of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES assigns Challand Middle School the locale Town: Distant, meaning in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Challand Middle School saw enrollment fall 4% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Whiteside County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
54,947
Census ACS
Median income
$67,500
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
8,445 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sterling CUSD 5
- Sterling High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 450 students
- Franklin Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 394 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 277 students
Other schools in Sterling
- Sterling High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 450 students
- Franklin Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 394 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 277 students
- ROE 47 Student Support ALOPCombined
Nearby schools
- Sterling High School0.2 mi · 999
- Jefferson Elementary School0.2 mi · 450
- Lincoln Elementary School0.7 mi · 277
- Franklin Elementary School0.7 mi · 407
- Washington Elementary School1.0 mi · 394
- Merrill Elementary School1.8 mi · 258
Frequently asked questions
About Challand Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Challand Middle School?
Challand Middle School enrolls approximately 726 students in grades 06-08.
Is Challand Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Challand Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Challand Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Challand Middle School is approximately 16.5:1 (44 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Challand Middle School?
Challand Middle School reports a student body of 55% White, 36% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Challand Middle School in?
Challand Middle School is part of Sterling CUSD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.