Dirksen Junior High School

Dirksen Junior High School is a 6-8 campus of moderately sized scale in Joliet, Illinois, operated by Joliet PSD 86, works with 653 students in grades 6 through 8. That puts it 41% bigger than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 462 students.

Within Joliet PSD 86, which oversees 20 schools and 9,333 students, Dirksen Junior High School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Dirksen Junior High School shows that Hispanic students make up the majority at 65%. Beyond that, the school logs 22% Black, 8% White, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 20% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.1:1. The state averages around 13.0:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 98% of students at Dirksen Junior High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Will County runs at roughly 44%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Dirksen Junior High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 14.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 22.1%.

Across the wider county, Will County reports that median household earnings sit near $109,984, about 38% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Will County's 209 public schools (combined enrollment of about 113,008 students), Dirksen Junior High School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Lynne Thigpen Elem School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Dirksen Junior High School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Dirksen Junior High School at 5th of 8; the average score across the group is 24.3%.

Dirksen Junior High School operates from a residential location.

Five-year trend. Dirksen Junior High School's enrollment has fell 8% since 2018, when it stood at 707 (now 653). Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 58% to 65%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 14.1:1 today.

On this page, members of the Dirksen Junior High School community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.