MacArthur High School

MacArthur High School is one of the moderately sized 9-12 campuss in Decatur, Illinois, operated by Decatur SD 61, with 1,059 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 27% bigger than the state mean of about 834.

Within Decatur SD 61, which oversees 15 schools and 7,840 students, MacArthur High School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, MacArthur High School reports that the most-represented group is Black (51%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school logs 27% White, 14% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 16% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 53 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 20.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is north of Macon County's rate of about 61%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, MacArthur High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 29.4%; this one delivers 15.8%.

In the surrounding community, census data for Macon County shows median household income runs about $62,666, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. MacArthur High School is one of 43 public schools in Macon County (combined enrollment of about 14,702 students).

Franklin Grove Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.1 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), MacArthur High School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 10.7%.

MacArthur High School operates from an urban location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 3%: 1,093 students in 2018 compared to 1,059 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 37% to 27% across the same window. Class-load math has rose: from 16.8:1 in 2018 to 20.0:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the MacArthur High School community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.