Forreston Grade School

Forreston Grade School is an elementary school of low-enrollment scale in Forreston, Illinois, part of Forrestville Valley CUSD 221, teacheing 238 students in grades 1 through 5. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 38% below typical.

Forrestville Valley CUSD 221 comprises 3 schools with combined enrollment of 714 students; Forreston Grade School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Forreston Grade School logs that 92% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school reports 4% Hispanic, 3% multiracial.

Looking at school resources, Forreston Grade School records 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Forreston Grade School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 39% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Forreston Grade School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 48.7%; this one delivers 63.5%, a residual of +14.8 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Ogle County) shows that median household income runs about $82,132, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Ogle County runs 26 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,269 students), of which Forreston Grade School is one.

Forreston Jr/Sr High Sch is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Forreston Grade School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 46.6%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 22%: 307 students in 2018 compared to 238 in 2025. The White share of enrollment increased from 87% to 92% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 15.6:1 in 2018 to 11.0:1 today.

On allk12, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.