Penniman Elem School

Penniman Elem School operates as a tight-knit elementary campus in Cahokia, Illinois, part of Cahokia CUSD 187. Current enrollment sits at 250 students spanning grades 3 through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 34% smaller than the state mean of about 381.

Across the 8 schools in Cahokia CUSD 187 (2,991 students total), Penniman Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Penniman Elem School logs that the student body is overwhelmingly Black (94%). The remainder breaks down as 2% White, 2% Hispanic. By comparison, St. Clair County as a whole is about 28% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Penniman Elem School has 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Penniman Elem School higher than the state norm the norm. Around 88% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against St. Clair County (around 54%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Penniman Elem School is in the bottom 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 20.7%; Penniman Elem School posts 4.6%, -16.1 points below that line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for St. Clair County put the typical household earns roughly $73,854 per year, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, St. Clair County runs 96 public schools (combined enrollment of about 40,879 students), of which Penniman Elem School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Estelle Sauget School of Choice, around 0.3 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Penniman Elem School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Penniman Elem School ranks 8th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 12.0%.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Penniman Elem School has edged down 28%, going from 347 students in 2018 to 250 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 18.0:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.