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What do students at GCMS Elementary School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
489
Elementary
DISTRICT 325 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY CUSD 5·NCES 170004100272
GCMS Elementary School
902 N Church St, Gibson City, IL 60936 · (217) 784-4278 · Ford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL489 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.1:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.1:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
245 students
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 63 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 67 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 71 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 75 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 67 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 74 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (67) is 9% smaller than its 5th grade class (74).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 26% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
61.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +23.0pp since 2023
Math
39.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +10.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 23 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.9% | 39.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.9% | 28.6% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
49.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
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 GCMS Elementary School
GCMS Elementary School's state test result (49.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCMS Elementary School this school | 489 | 50.1% | 49.3% |
| Warrensburg-Latham Elementary School Warrensburg | 475 | 51.8% | 56.1% |
| Clinton Elementary School Clinton | 506 | 53.8% | 47.5% |
| Central Grade School Effingham | 547 | 47.3% | 46.2% |
| Eastland Elementary School Shannon | 433 | 47.3% | 64.1% |
| Dwight Common School Dwight | 519 | 45.5% | 37.3% |
Matched among Illinois elementary 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 GCMS Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.3% | #612 of 1,925 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #990 of 2,077 ▼ 127 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #611 of 2,077 ▲ 228 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 489 | #591 of 2,419 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.1:1 | #307 of 2,035 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.0% | #1,440 of 2,042 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.1% | #1,297 of 2,132 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.9% | #433 of 615 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
489
+28 (+6%) vs 2020
+6% since 2000-01, when it was 461
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 | 489 | 44 | 11.1:1 | 50% (245) |
| 2023-24 | 498 | 41.3 | 12.1:1 | 49% (244) |
| 2022-23 | 469 | 42 | 11.2:1 | 47% (222) |
| 2020-21 | 461 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 466 | 40 | 11.7:1 | 41% (193) |
| 2015-16 | 477 | 37 | 12.9:1 | 40% (190) |
| 2010-11 | 511 | 37 | 13.8:1 | 38% (196) |
| 2000-01 | 461 | 29 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for GCMS Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (466 to 489); teachers up 10% (40 to 44).
About GCMS Elementary School
GCMS Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school based in Gibson City, Illinois. It reports enrollment of 489 students in pre-K through 5. On average, elementary schools in Illinois enroll around 381, and this school is 28% larger than that mark.
Federal data list 3 schools in Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5, with 975 students enrolled.
By race and ethnicity, GCMS Elementary School is 84% White. Next come 10% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 28, compared with 70 nationally.
For every teacher at GCMS Elementary School, there are about 11.1 students; the school has 44 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. There are 245 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 50% of enrollment. That is in line with the 48% average for public schools in Ford County.
GCMS Elementary School is 6.8 points above its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (49.3% versus 42.6%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Illinois.
Census data for Ford County show the median household earns about $62,439 a year, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Ford County number 9, with about 2,450 students.
GCMS Elementary School is about 0.1 miles from GCMS High School, its nearest public school. Around the school, 2 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, GCMS Elementary School is ahead of the 47.4% nearby average, ranking 3rd of 8.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Distant.
Enrollment rose by 6% across 4 years, from 461 in 2020-21 to 489 in 2024-25.
The allk12 page for GCMS Elementary School lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Ford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
13,406
Census ACS
Median income
$62,439
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,450 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5
- GCMS High SchoolHigh · 275 students
- GCMS Middle SchoolMiddle · 211 students
Other schools in Gibson City
- GCMS High SchoolHigh · 275 students
- GCMS Middle SchoolMiddle · 211 students
Nearby schools
- GCMS High School0.1 mi · 275
- GCMS Middle School0.4 mi · 211
- Fisher Jr/Sr High School11.5 mi · 284
- Fisher Grade School11.5 mi · 326
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda Jr High School13.9 mi · 288
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School13.9 mi · 378
Frequently asked questions
About GCMS Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at GCMS Elementary School?
GCMS Elementary School enrolls approximately 489 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does GCMS Elementary School serve?
GCMS Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does GCMS Elementary School have?
GCMS Elementary School employs 44 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.1:1.
What is the student diversity at GCMS Elementary School?
Student demographics at GCMS Elementary School are roughly 84% White, 10% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
What district is GCMS Elementary School in?
GCMS Elementary School is part of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.