GCMS Elementary School

GCMS Elementary School, a moderately sized K-5 school in Gibson City, Illinois, part of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5, serves 489 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 28% bigger than the state mean of about 381.

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5 runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 975 students. GCMS Elementary School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, GCMS Elementary School logs that the student body is overwhelmingly White (84%); the rest consists of 10% Hispanic, 5% multiracial.

Looking at the economic backdrop, GCMS Elementary School lists 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.1:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 50% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, GCMS Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 42.6%; this one delivers 49.3%.

In the broader community, Ford County reports that median household earnings sit near $62,439, about 19% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Ford County's 9 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,450 students), GCMS Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

GCMS High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around GCMS Elementary School. On composite proficiency, GCMS Elementary School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 47.4%.

GCMS Elementary School operates from an outlying location.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at GCMS Elementary School has rose 5%, going from 466 students in 2018 to 489 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 93% to 84% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.