McClernand Elem School

Set in Springfield, Illinois, McClernand Elem School is a modestly sized elementary campus, run under Springfield SD 186. It hosts 213 students across grades K through 5. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so McClernand Elem School sits 44% below that benchmark.

Across the 31 schools in Springfield SD 186 (13,014 students total), McClernand Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, McClernand Elem School records that 50% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 36% White, 10% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 13%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, McClernand Elem School has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.2:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 80% of students at McClernand Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Sangamon County (around 48%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, McClernand Elem School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 25.1%; this one delivers 16.9%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Sangamon County indicate the typical household earns roughly $75,357 per year, about 37% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. McClernand Elem School is one of 77 public schools in Sangamon County (combined enrollment of about 27,345 students).

Lanphier High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around McClernand Elem School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), McClernand Elem School ranks 7th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 28.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at McClernand Elem School has fell 13%, going from 246 students in 2018 to 213 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment rose from 44% to 50% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.