Dunbar Elem School

As a mid-tier elementary-level community in East Saint Louis, Illinois, Dunbar Elem School caters to 327 students from grades K through 4, operated by East St Louis SD 189.

Dunbar Elem School is one of 10 schools operated by East St Louis SD 189, a district that caters to 4,646 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Dunbar Elem School shows that 99% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. By comparison, St. Clair County as a whole is about 28% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Dunbar Elem School has 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.1:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 100% of students at Dunbar Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against St. Clair County (around 54%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Dunbar Elem School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 13.8%; this one delivers 22.1%.

In the broader community, census data for St. Clair County shows median household earnings sit near $73,854, about 32% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Dunbar Elem School is one of 96 public schools in St. Clair County (combined enrollment of about 40,879 students).

Nearest neighbor: East St Louis-Lincoln Middle Sch, around 1.0 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Dunbar Elem School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Dunbar Elem School at 5th of 7; the average score across the group is 43.3%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Five-year trend. Dunbar Elem School's enrollment has edged down 31% since 2018, when it stood at 475 (now 327). The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 18.2:1 in 2018 to 12.1:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Dunbar Elem School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.