DeKalb High School

DeKalb High School operates as a well-populated four-year high school in Dekalb, Illinois, overseen by DeKalb CUSD 428. Current enrollment sits at 2,134 students spanning grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 156% bigger than the state mean of about 834.

DeKalb CUSD 428 runs 12 schools in total, collectively educating 6,771 students. DeKalb High School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, DeKalb High School shows that the most-represented group is Hispanic (34%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder looks like 34% White, 24% Black, 5% multiracial. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 15%.

On the resource side, The school lists 142 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting DeKalb High School higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 61% of students at DeKalb High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, DeKalb County runs at roughly 48%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), DeKalb High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.1%; this one delivers 27.9%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (DeKalb County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $70,724 per year, about 33% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. DeKalb High School is one of 43 public schools in DeKalb County (combined enrollment of about 16,328 students).

Jefferson Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around DeKalb High School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts DeKalb High School at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 21.9%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Trend over the last 7 years. DeKalb High School's enrollment has increased 16% since 2018, when it stood at 1,840 (now 2,134). Over the same period, the White share decreased from 53% to 34%. Class-load math has tightened: from 17.0:1 in 2018 to 15.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the DeKalb High School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.