Montessori Academy for Peace

Montessori Academy for Peace is a primary school of high-enrollment scale in Decatur, Illinois, one of the schools within Decatur SD 61, hosting 586 students in grades pre-K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 54% larger than the state mean of about 381.

Across the 15 schools in Decatur SD 61 (7,840 students total), Montessori Academy for Peace accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Montessori Academy for Peace logs that the largest single group is White at 46%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 32% Black, 20% multiracial. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 74%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.7:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 53% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Macon County runs at roughly 61%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Montessori Academy for Peace is in the bottom 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 41.0%; Montessori Academy for Peace posts 26.5%, -14.5 points below that line.

In the surrounding community, Macon County reports that median household income runs about $62,666, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Montessori Academy for Peace is one of 43 public schools in Macon County (combined enrollment of about 14,702 students).

Nearest neighbor: Michael E Baum Elem School, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Montessori Academy for Peace at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 12.2%.

Montessori Academy for Peace operates from a downtown location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Montessori Academy for Peace has grew 64%, going from 357 students in 2018 to 586 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 61% to 46%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 17.0:1 in 2018 to 14.7:1 in 2025.

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