Early Learning Center

Early Learning Center is a reasonably sized elementary campus in Springfield, Illinois, run under Springfield SD 186. The school hosts 549 students in grade pre-K. That puts it 44% above the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Springfield SD 186 runs 31 schools in total, collectively educating 13,014 students. Early Learning Center is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Early Learning Center shows that the largest single group is Black at 46%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 29% White, 17% multiracial, 5% Hispanic, 3% Asian. By comparison, Sangamon County as a whole is about 13% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Early Learning Center has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 19.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Early Learning Center higher than the state norm the norm. About 65% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Sangamon County (around 48%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

In the broader community, Sangamon County reports that median household income runs about $75,357, 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. In all, Sangamon County runs 77 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,345 students), of which Early Learning Center is one.

Nearest neighbor: Black Hawk Elem School, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Early Learning Center has decreased 19%, going from 681 students in 2018 to 549 in 2025. The White share of enrollment fell from 42% to 29% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 22.0:1 in 2018 to 19.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.