Northwestern High School

Northwestern High School is one of the rural-scale four-year high schools in Palmyra, Illinois, overseen by Northwestern CUSD 2, with 94 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. That puts it 89% smaller than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 834 students.

Northwestern High School is one of 3 schools operated by Northwestern CUSD 2, a district that serves 323 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Northwestern High School shows that nearly all students (97%) are White; the rest breaks down as 2% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Northwestern High School has 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 8.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Northwestern High School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 39% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is below Macoupin County's rate of about 50%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), On a poverty-adjusted basis, Northwestern High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 48.8%; actual is 34.5%, a gap of -14.3 points.

In the area at large, census data for Macoupin County shows median household earnings sit near $70,805, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Macoupin County's 28 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,221 students), Northwestern High School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Northwestern Jr High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Northwestern High School. On composite proficiency, Northwestern High School comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 33.5%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Northwestern High School has shrank 16%, going from 112 students in 2018 to 94 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 9.2:1 in 2018 to 8.0:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for Northwestern High School typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.