Enrollment
313
Elementary
DISTRICT 455 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR SD 61·NCES 171185001423
Michael E Baum Elementary School
801 S Lake Ridge Ave, Decatur, IL 62521 · (217) 362-3521 · Macon County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL313 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
87%
271 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 53 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 41 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 48 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 41 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 39 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 36% larger than its 6th grade class (39).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Michael E Baum Elementary School→Stephen Decatur Middle School
Based on grade levels within Decatur SD 61. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Michael E Baum Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
23.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +15.4pp since 2023
Math
13.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +7.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 24 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 15 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 23.6% | 13.7% |
| 2023-24 | 8.2% | 5.9% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
16.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
21.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 16% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 22% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Michael E Baum Elementary School
Michael E Baum Elementary School's state test result (16.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael E Baum Elementary School this school | 313 | 86.6% | 16.4% |
| South Shores Elementary School Decatur | 335 | 87.2% | 8.0% |
| Sheridan Elementary School Bloomington | 314 | 82.8% | 15.2% |
| Muffley Elementary School Decatur | 386 | 84.5% | 10.8% |
| Fairview Elementary School Springfield | 302 | 79.5% | 21.5% |
| Jane Addams Elementary School Springfield | 243 | 81.9% | 25.9% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Michael E Baum Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.4% | #1,718 of 1,925 | #9 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 13.7% | #1,780 of 2,077 ▲ 40 | #7 of 16 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 23.6% | #1,846 of 2,077 ▲ 137 | #8 of 16 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 313 | #1,467 of 2,419 | #18 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #1,944 of 2,035 | #14 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.9% | #230 of 2,042 | #3 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 86.6% | #371 of 2,132 | #6 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.2% | #1,345 of 1,461 | #5 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
313
+43 (+16%) vs 2020
-33% since 1990-91, when it was 467
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 313 | 17 | 18.4:1 | 87% (271) |
| 2023-24 | 311 | 16 | 19.4:1 | 75% (234) |
| 2022-23 | 297 | 16 | 18.6:1 | 78% (232) |
| 2020-21 | 270 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 320 | 19.2 | 16.7:1 | 72% (231) |
| 2015-16 | 363 | 17 | 21.4:1 | 75% (272) |
| 2010-11 | 395 | 20 | 19.8:1 | 71% (281) |
| 2000-01 | 360 | 18 | 20.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 467 | 17 | 27.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Michael E Baum Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (320 to 313); teachers down 11% (19.2 to 17).
About Michael E Baum Elementary School
This page covers Michael E Baum Elementary School, a small elementary school in Decatur, Illinois. The school counted 313 students in 2024-25, covering kindergarten through 6.
Decatur SD 61 enrolls 7,840 students in 15 schools, including Michael E Baum Elementary School.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Michael E Baum Elementary School is Black, with 41% of students. Enrollment also includes 32% White, 22% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. The school's Black share is 25 points above the 16% share among Macon County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 68%.
For every teacher at Michael E Baum Elementary School, there are about 18.4 students; the school has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1, so this school has more students per teacher. There are 271 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 87% of enrollment. On average, public schools in Macon County report 61%.
The model predicts 21.5% for a school in Illinois with Michael E Baum Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Michael E Baum Elementary School posts 16.4%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Macon County show that the median household earns about $62,666 a year, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. Macon County has 43 public schools with about 14,702 students, including Michael E Baum Elementary School.
Montessori Academy for Peace is about 0.6 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Michael E Baum Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Michael E Baum Elementary School's average proficiency of 16.4% compares with 13.2% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Its location is classified as City: Small by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Over 4 years, enrollment rose by 43 students, from 270 to 313.
Michael E Baum Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Macon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
101,849
Census ACS
Median income
$62,666
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
14,702 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decatur SD 61
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Other schools in Decatur
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Nearby schools
- Montessori Academy for Peace0.6 mi · 586
- Muffley Elementary School1.2 mi · 386
- Eisenhower High School2.2 mi · 909
- Robertson Charter School2.4 mi · 327
- Johns Hill Magnet School2.6 mi · 627
- Hope Academy2.9 mi · 501
Frequently asked questions
About Michael E Baum Elementary SchoolHow large is Michael E Baum Elementary School?
Michael E Baum Elementary School enrolls approximately 313 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Michael E Baum Elementary School serve?
Michael E Baum Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Michael E Baum Elementary School?
Approximately 18.4:1 students per teacher at Michael E Baum Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Michael E Baum Elementary School?
At Michael E Baum Elementary School, the student body is approximately 32% White, 4% Hispanic, 41% Black, 0% Asian, 22% Two or more.
Is Michael E Baum Elementary School public or private?
Michael E Baum Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Decatur SD 61.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.