Jordan Elem School

Jordan Elem School is a tight-knit primary school in Centralia, Illinois, operated by Centralia SD 135. The school enrolls 228 students in grades 2 through 3. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Jordan Elem School sits 40% smaller than that benchmark.

Centralia SD 135 comprises 4 schools with combined enrollment of 1,068 students; Jordan Elem School is among them.

Demographically, Jordan Elem School reports that 55% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school lists 21% Black, 18% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 90% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.3:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Jordan Elem School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 99% of students at Jordan Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Marion County runs at roughly 64%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Jordan Elem School ranks in the top 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 14.3%; Jordan Elem School posts 28.4%, +14.1 points above that line.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Marion County indicate median household income runs about $61,240, roughly 17% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Marion County's 27 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,636 students), Jordan Elem School is one campus in the mix.

Centralia High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Jordan Elem School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 35.4%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-based area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 5%: 218 students in 2018 compared to 228 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Jordan Elem School community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.