Cortland Elementary School

As a medium-sized primary school in Cortland, Illinois, Cortland Elementary School enrolls 523 students from grades K through 5, part of DeKalb CUSD 428. That puts it 37% larger than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

DeKalb CUSD 428 comprises 12 schools with combined enrollment of 6,771 students; Cortland Elementary School is among them.

In terms of who attends, Cortland Elementary School shows that the most-represented group is Hispanic (42%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school lists 37% White, 12% Black, 9% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 15% Hispanic, putting the school's mix noticeably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Cortland Elementary School has 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.1:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Roughly 62% of students at Cortland Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against DeKalb County (around 48%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cortland Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 35.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 25.5%.

Across the wider county, census data for DeKalb County shows the typical household earns roughly $70,724 per year, about 33% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Cortland Elementary School is one of 43 public schools in DeKalb County (combined enrollment of about 16,328 students).

Littlejohn Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 3.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cortland Elementary School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 23.3%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 5%: 553 students in 2018 compared to 523 in 2025. The White share of enrollment decreased from 56% to 37% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 15.3:1 in 2018 to 13.1:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.