Prairieland Elementary School

Prairieland Elementary School operates as a mid-sized primary school in Normal, Illinois, operated by McLean County USD 5. Current enrollment sits at 450 students spanning grades K through 5.

Across the 24 schools in McLean County USD 5 (12,407 students total), Prairieland Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Prairieland Elementary School records that 73% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder comes out to 8% Hispanic, 7% Black, 7% multiracial, 5% Asian.

Looking at school resources, Prairieland Elementary School lists 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Prairieland Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 22% of students at Prairieland Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against McLean County (around 40%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Prairieland Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 58.7%, the actual is 60.4%, a residual of +1.7 points.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (McLean County) shows that median household earnings sit near $79,905, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, McLean County runs 60 public schools (combined enrollment of about 23,759 students), of which Prairieland Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Sugar Creek Elem School, around 1.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Prairieland Elementary School at 3rd of 8; the average score across the group is 51.5%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Prairieland Elementary School has decreased 9%, going from 495 students in 2018 to 450 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 83% to 73% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.7:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Prairieland Elementary School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.