Mark W Bills Middle School

Mark W Bills Middle School is one of the compact middle schools in Peoria, Illinois, operated by Peoria SD 150, with 258 students on its rolls from grades 5 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 462 students per school, that is 44% smaller than typical.

Within Peoria SD 150, which oversees 25 schools and 13,312 students, Mark W Bills Middle School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Mark W Bills Middle School shows that Black students make up the majority at 60%; the rest is composed of 21% White, 10% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 17%.

In terms of school funding signals, Mark W Bills Middle School reports 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.5:1. The state averages around 13.0:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 75% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Peoria County's rate of about 57%.

With demographic context factored in, Mark W Bills Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 28.3%; this one delivers 24.0%.

Around the school, Peoria County reports that the typical household earns roughly $65,108 per year, about 35% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across Peoria County's 81 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,827 students), Mark W Bills Middle School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Charter Oak Primary School, roughly 0.7 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Mark W Bills Middle School comes 7th of 9 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 35.0%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Mark W Bills Middle School's enrollment has increased 14% since 2018, when it stood at 227 (now 258). The Black share of enrollment edged up from 56% to 60% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 13.3:1 in 2018 to 11.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Mark W Bills Middle School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.