Enrollment
154
High
STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GARDNER S WILMINGTON TWP HSD 73·NCES 171626001942
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School
500 E Main St, Gardner, IL 60424 · (815) 237-2176 · Grundy County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL154 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 36% of Illinois public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public high schools
Student : Teacher
8.6:1
18 FTE teachers
STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
46 students
STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 40 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 41 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 35 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 38 | 25% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONBeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
38.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 54% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School's state test result (38.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School this school | 154 | 29.9% | 38.0% |
| Pearl City High School Pearl City | 147 | 30.6% | 52.5% |
| East Dubuque High School East Dubuque | 180 | 30.0% | 39.2% |
| New Athens High School New Athens | 164 | 31.7% | 49.0% |
| Erie High School Erie | 190 | 27.9% | 43.8% |
| Durand High School Durand | 170 | 32.4% | 35.9% |
Matched among Illinois high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #237 of 573 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 154 | #593 of 708 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.9% | #503 of 578 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
154
-27 (-15%) vs 2020
-26% since 1990-91, when it was 209
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 154 | 18 | 8.6:1 | 30% (46) |
| 2023-24 | 142 | 19.4 | 7.3:1 | 32% (46) |
| 2022-23 | 147 | 19.4 | 7.6:1 | 33% (49) |
| 2020-21 | 181 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 184 | 17.4 | 10.6:1 | 27% (49) |
| 2015-16 | 186 | 17 | 10.9:1 | 23% (43) |
| 2010-11 | 192 | 17 | 11.3:1 | 27% (52) |
| 2000-01 | 190 | 17 | 11.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 209 | 12 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (184 to 154); teachers up 3% (17.4 to 18).
About Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School runs as a small high school in Gardner, Illinois. Enrolled students number 154 students, in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 82% lower than the average for high schools in Illinois, which is about 834.
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School reports to Gardner S Wilmington Twp HSD 73.
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School's enrollment is 93% White. The next largest groups are 6% Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 13% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The school reported 18 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 8.6:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.8:1 average for high schools in Illinois. Eligible students account for 30% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 36% of Illinois public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School ranks in the bottom 10% of Illinois schools after adjusting test results for student poverty. Actual: 38.0%. Predicted: 54.3%. Difference: 16.3 points.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Grundy County show that the median household income is $92,235, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Besides Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School, Grundy County has 27 other public schools.
Gardner Elementary School is the public school closest to Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School, about 0.6 miles away. There are 3 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School ranks 7th of 8 nearby schools, at 38.0% versus a 49.6% average.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Distant: the school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment has fallen by 27 students since 2020-21, to 154.
Community posts for Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School can cover enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Grundy County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
53,219
Census ACS
Median income
$92,235
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
12,070 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- Gardner Elementary School0.6 mi · 146
- South Wilmington Grade School1.5 mi · 73
- Braceville Elementary School3.5 mi · 130
- Coal City Early Childhood Center6.3 mi · 437
- Coal City Middle School6.4 mi · 454
- Reed-Custer Elementary School6.7 mi · 690
Frequently asked questions
About Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School?
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School enrolls approximately 154 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School serve?
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School have?
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School employs 18 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 8.6:1.
How diverse is Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School?
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School reports a student body of 93% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black.
What district is Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School in?
Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School is part of Gardner S Wilmington Twp HSD 73.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.