Harding Grade School

Harding Grade School operates as an one-room-style primary school in Earlville, Illinois, run under Serena CUSD 2. Current enrollment sits at 130 students spanning grades pre-K through 4. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 66% smaller than typical.

Across the 4 schools in Serena CUSD 2 (611 students total), Harding Grade School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Harding Grade School records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (85%). The remainder looks like 8% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with LaSalle County as a whole.

On the resource side, On paper, Harding Grade School has 9 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 36% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against LaSalle County (around 53%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Harding Grade School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 50.6%, the actual is 51.3%, a residual of +0.6 points.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for LaSalle County put median household income runs about $73,045, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, LaSalle County runs 54 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,523 students), of which Harding Grade School is one.

The closest other public school is Serena High School, roughly 6.2 miles away. 8 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), Harding Grade School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 43.4%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Harding Grade School has rose 44%, going from 90 students in 2018 to 130 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 90% to 85%. Class-load math has loosened: from 13.2:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.