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What tradition at Clara Peterson Elem School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
564
Elementary
DISTRICT 410 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA CUD 10·NCES 170765005480
Clara Peterson Elementary School
580 E Franklin St, Paxton, IL 60957 · (217) 379-2531 · Ford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL564 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
40%
225 students
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 | 40 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 65 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 104 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 94 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (65) is 31% smaller than its 5th grade class (94).
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · 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 Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
45.8%
IL avg 51.0% . +12.8pp since 2023
Math
39.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +15.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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 13 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 15 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 45.8% | 39.0% |
| 2023-24 | 33.0% | 23.9% |
% 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
38.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Clara Peterson Elementary School
Clara Peterson Elementary School's state test result (38.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clara Peterson Elementary School this school | 564 | 39.9% | 38.0% |
| Nashville Grade School Nashville | 622 | 39.1% | 40.6% |
| Dwight Common School Dwight | 519 | 45.5% | 37.3% |
| Highland Primary School Highland | 544 | 35.1% | N/A |
| Monroe Elementary School Casey | 530 | 41.7% | 44.6% |
| Reed-Custer Elementary School Braidwood | 690 | 43.8% | 50.1% |
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 Clara Peterson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #984 of 1,925 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #991 of 2,077 ▲ 39 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.8% | #1,158 of 2,077 ▼ 105 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 564 | #350 of 2,419 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.8:1 | #808 of 2,035 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.7% | #1,378 of 2,042 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.9% | #1,554 of 2,132 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +95.2% | #11 of 615 |
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
564
-21 (-4%) vs 2020
+24% since 1990-91, when it was 456
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 | 564 | 44.2 | 12.8:1 | 40% (225) |
| 2023-24 | 585 | 45.5 | 12.9:1 | 40% (235) |
| 2022-23 | 624 | 45.3 | 13.8:1 | 43% (271) |
| 2020-21 | 585 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 289 | 23.5 | 12.3:1 | 51% (147) |
| 2015-16 | 286 | 24 | 11.9:1 | 47% (135) |
| 2010-11 | 336 | 25 | 13.4:1 | 38% (128) |
| 2000-01 | 387 | 19 | 20.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 456 | 23 | 19.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clara Peterson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 95% (289 to 564); teachers up 88% (23.5 to 44.2).
About Clara Peterson Elementary School
Clara Peterson Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school found in Paxton, Illinois. It enrolls 564 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are pre-K through 5. It has 48% more students than the average for elementary schools in Illinois (about 381).
Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10 has 1,230 students spread across 3 schools.
Of every 100 students at Clara Peterson Elementary School, about 82 are White. Smaller groups are 10% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 31%.
Classroom staffing at Clara Peterson Elementary School totals 44.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 12.8:1. Compared with the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois, this school's ratio is lower. Federal data show 40% of students (225) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 48% for public schools in Ford County.
Compared with Illinois schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Clara Peterson Elementary School's results are 10.4 points below predicted: 38.0% against 48.5%.
In Ford County, median household income comes to about $62,439, roughly 19% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Ford County counts 9 public schools with about 2,450 students.
A public school about 1.1 miles away, Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School, is the closest to Clara Peterson Elementary School. The count of other public schools within five miles is 2. On proficiency, Clara Peterson Elementary School is ahead of the 23.7% nearby average, ranking 3rd of 8.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Town: Distant, meaning it is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
From 585 students in 2020-21, enrollment fell to 564 by 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Clara Peterson Elementary School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Ford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
13,406
Census ACS
Median income
$62,439
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,450 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda High SchoolHigh · 378 students
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda Jr High SchoolMiddle · 288 students
- Panther AcademyHigh
Other schools in Paxton
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda High SchoolHigh · 378 students
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda Jr High SchoolMiddle · 288 students
- Panther AcademyHigh
Nearby schools
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School1.1 mi · 378
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda Jr High School1.1 mi · 288
- Ludlow Elementary School5.1 mi · 52
- Eastlawn Elementary School9.7 mi · 276
- Northview Elementary School10.1 mi · 218
- Pleasant Acres Elementary School10.2 mi · 293
Frequently asked questions
About Clara Peterson Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Clara Peterson Elementary School?
Clara Peterson Elementary School enrolls approximately 564 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Clara Peterson Elementary School serve?
Clara Peterson Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Clara Peterson Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Clara Peterson Elementary School is approximately 12.8:1 (44 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Clara Peterson Elementary School?
Clara Peterson Elementary School reports a student body of 82% White, 10% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Clara Peterson Elementary School in?
Clara Peterson Elementary School is part of Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.