Grove Elementary School

Located at 1101 Airport Rd, in Normal, Illinois, Grove Elementary School is a mid-sized primary school that hosts 519 students (grades K through 5), part of McLean County USD 5. Enrollment runs roughly 36% bigger than the state mean of about 381.

Across the 24 schools in McLean County USD 5 (12,407 students total), Grove Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Grove Elementary School shows that the most-represented group is White (54%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder comes out to 24% Asian, 7% multiracial, 7% Black, 6% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 78% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Grove Elementary School reports 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Grove Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 15% of students at Grove Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, McLean County runs at roughly 40%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Grove Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 63.1%, the actual is 71.3%, a residual of +8.2 points.

In the area at large, census data for McLean County shows median household earnings sit near $79,905, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across McLean County's 60 public schools (combined enrollment of about 23,759 students), Grove Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Normal Community High School, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Grove Elementary School at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 49.4%.

The school occupies a residential site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Grove Elementary School has decreased 16%, going from 615 students in 2018 to 519 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 71% to 54% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 19.8:1 in 2018 to 17.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.