Dawn Elser Elementary School

Dawn Elser Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary campus in O Fallon, Illinois, operated by Central SD 104, serves 330 students, covering grades pre-K through 3.

Across the 2 schools in Central SD 104 (629 students total), Dawn Elser Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Dawn Elser Elementary School lists that 39% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest consists of 33% Black, 12% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 6% Asian. By comparison, St. Clair County as a whole is about 60% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Around 44% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is lower than St. Clair County's rate of about 54%.

With demographic context factored in, Dawn Elser Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 39.4%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for St. Clair County shows median household earnings sit near $73,854, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across St. Clair County's 96 public schools (combined enrollment of about 40,879 students), Dawn Elser Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Joseph Arthur Middle School, roughly 0.3 miles away. 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), Dawn Elser Elementary School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 53.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a residential area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Dawn Elser Elementary School has shrank 8%, going from 358 students in 2018 to 330 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 44% to 39%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 10.8:1 today.

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