MacArthur Middle School

MacArthur Middle School is a cozy middle-grades school in Berkeley, Illinois, part of Berkeley SD 87. The school teaches 357 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 462 students each, so MacArthur Middle School sits 23% leaner than that benchmark.

MacArthur Middle School is one of 6 schools operated by Berkeley SD 87, a district that works with 2,147 students overall.

Looking at the student body, MacArthur Middle School shows that the most-represented group is Hispanic (53%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest reads as 43% Black, 3% White. The wider county runs roughly 27% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, MacArthur Middle School shows 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.3:1. The state averages about 13.0:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 76% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, MacArthur Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 27.7%; this one delivers 24.3%.

In the surrounding community, Cook County reports that median household income runs about $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Cook County's 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), MacArthur Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Sunnyside Intermediate School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, MacArthur Middle School comes 7th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 49.4%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 17%: 430 students in 2018 compared to 357 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 12.3:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the MacArthur Middle School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.