Neponset Grade School

Located at 201 W Main St, in Neponset, Illinois, Neponset Grade School is a very small primary school that enrolls 137 students (grades pre-K through 8), part of Kewanee CUSD 229. Enrollment runs roughly 64% leaner than the state mean of about 381.

Kewanee CUSD 229 comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 1,963 students; Neponset Grade School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Neponset Grade School logs that the largest single group is White, at 77% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 15% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Bureau County as a whole is about 88% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, The school lists 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 10.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Neponset Grade School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 73% of students at Neponset Grade School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Bureau County runs at roughly 53%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Neponset Grade School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 29.4%; this one delivers 68.0%, a residual of +38.6 points.

In the broader community, census data for Bureau County shows the typical household earns roughly $69,257 per year, about 22% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Neponset Grade School is one of 22 public schools in Bureau County (combined enrollment of about 4,547 students).

Nearest neighbor: Belle Alexander Elem School, around 6.7 miles off. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. On composite proficiency, Neponset Grade School comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 39.6%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Neponset Grade School's enrollment has grew 11% since 2018, when it stood at 123 (now 137). White enrollment moved from 87% to 77% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 10.7:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.