Charleston Middle School

Charleston Middle School is one of the medium-sized intermediate schools in Charleston, Illinois, one of the schools within Charleston CUSD 1, with 401 students on its rolls from grades 7 through 8.

Charleston Middle School is one of 6 schools operated by Charleston CUSD 1, a district that educates 2,744 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Charleston Middle School reports that White students make up the majority at 76%. Beyond that, the school records 8% Black, 8% multiracial, 6% Hispanic. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 90%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school employs 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 48% of enrolled students meet the income threshold 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), Charleston Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.7%; this one delivers 39.9%.

In the surrounding community, Coles County reports that median household income runs about $56,478, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Across Coles County's 23 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,973 students), Charleston Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Mark Twain Elem School, around 0.2 miles off. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Charleston Middle School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 36.7%.

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

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Charleston Middle School has changed only slightly, going from 405 students in 2018 to 401 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 89% to 76%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.