Northwestern Jr High School

Set in Palmyra, Illinois, Northwestern Jr High School is a very small middle-grades school, run under Northwestern CUSD 2. It serves 40 students across grades 7 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 91% smaller than the state mean of about 462.

Across the 3 schools in Northwestern CUSD 2 (323 students total), Northwestern Jr High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Northwestern Jr High School shows that nearly all students (93%) are White. Beyond that, the school shows 3% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 3% multiracial. Compared to Macoupin County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 5 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 7.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.0:1 average. An estimated 53% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Northwestern Jr High School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 41.2%; this one comes in at 24.6%, -16.6 points off the demographic line.

In the broader community, Macoupin County reports that the typical household earns roughly $70,805 per year, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across Macoupin County's 28 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,221 students), Northwestern Jr High School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Northwestern High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Northwestern Jr High School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Northwestern Jr High School at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 34.9%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Northwestern Jr High School has decreased 5%, going from 42 students in 2018 to 40 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 100% to 93% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.