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What do you wish you knew before starting at Reed-Custer Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
690
Elementary
DISTRICT 464 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·REED CUSTER CUSD 255U·NCES 173338003453
Reed-Custer Elementary School
162 S School St, Braidwood, IL 60408 · (815) 458-2145 · Will County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL690 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
302 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 53 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 110 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 114 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 111 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 101 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (109) is 8% larger than its 5th grade class (101).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Reed Custer CUSD 255U. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
59.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +13.1pp since 2023
Math
46.6%
IL avg 37.9% . +15.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 13 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 16 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.3% | 46.6% |
| 2023-24 | 46.2% | 30.7% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
50.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Reed-Custer Elementary School
Reed-Custer Elementary School's state test result (50.1% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reed-Custer Elementary School this school | 690 | 43.8% | 50.1% |
| Tri-C Elementary School Carterville | 650 | 44.0% | 64.6% |
| Clara Peterson Elementary School Paxton | 564 | 39.9% | 38.0% |
| Farmington Central Elementary School Farmington | 633 | 46.9% | 44.6% |
| Dwight Common School Dwight | 519 | 45.5% | 37.3% |
| Central Grade School Effingham | 547 | 47.3% | 46.2% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Reed-Custer Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.1% | #593 of 1,925 | #43 of 94 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.6% | #762 of 2,077 ▲ 22 | #56 of 100 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.3% | #701 of 2,077 ▼ 94 | #49 of 100 ▼ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 690 | #137 of 2,419 | #6 of 116 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.0:1 | #887 of 2,035 | #40 of 107 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.6% | #1,359 of 2,042 | #96 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 43.8% | #1,465 of 2,132 | #51 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.0% | #395 of 615 | #23 of 36 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
690
+120 (+21%) vs 2020
+44% since 1990-91, when it was 480
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 690 | 53.1 | 13.0:1 | 44% (302) |
| 2023-24 | 691 | 53 | 13.0:1 | 46% (317) |
| 2022-23 | 653 | 50.5 | 12.9:1 | 42% (272) |
| 2020-21 | 570 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 651 | 47.6 | 13.7:1 | 43% (280) |
| 2015-16 | 480 | 28 | 17.1:1 | 48% (228) |
| 2010-11 | 529 | 29 | 18.2:1 | 39% (205) |
| 2000-01 | 644 | 43 | 15.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 480 | 33 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Reed-Custer Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (651 to 690); teachers up 12% (47.6 to 53.1).
About Reed-Custer Elementary School
Reed-Custer Elementary School, a large elementary school, is located in Braidwood, Illinois. Enrollment totals 690 students across pre-K through 5. The school is 81% bigger than the average for elementary schools in Illinois.
Reed Custer CUSD 255U runs 3 schools with a combined 1,393 students. Reed-Custer Elementary School is one of them.
By race and ethnicity, Reed-Custer Elementary School is 82% White. The next largest groups are 13% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. The school's White share is 19 points above the 62% share among Will County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 32%.
Its ratio of 13.0:1 is based on 53.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 44%. The figure for public schools in Will County is close, at 44%.
Compared with Illinois schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Reed-Custer Elementary School's results are 3.8 points above predicted: 50.1% against 46.2%.
The school is in Will County, where median household income comes to about $109,984, roughly 38% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Will County's 209 public schools enroll about 113,008 students and include Reed-Custer Elementary School.
Reed-Custer Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Reed-Custer High School, about 1.0 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Reed-Custer Elementary School is 5th of 8 on proficiency.
Federal data place Reed-Custer Elementary School in the Town: Fringe locale, which means it is in a town close to an urbanized area.
A 21% rise took enrollment from 570 in 2020-21 to 690 in 2024-25.
The Reed-Custer Elementary School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. You can also rate the school on this page.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Reed Custer CUSD 255U
- Reed-Custer High SchoolHigh · 397 students
- Reed-Custer Middle SchoolMiddle · 306 students
Other schools in Braidwood
- Reed-Custer High SchoolHigh · 397 students
- Reed-Custer Middle SchoolMiddle · 306 students
- SOWIC-EC Reed CusterElementary
- SOWIC-Educ & Life Skills-Reed CusElementary
- SOWIC-Educ & Life Skills-Reed CusElementary
Nearby schools
- Reed-Custer High School1.0 mi · 397
- Reed-Custer Middle School1.0 mi · 306
- Braceville Elementary School3.3 mi · 130
- Coal City Intermediate School3.4 mi · 294
- Coal City Elementary School3.8 mi · 302
- Coal City Middle School4.2 mi · 454
Frequently asked questions
About Reed-Custer Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Reed-Custer Elementary School?
Reed-Custer Elementary School enrolls approximately 690 students in grades PK-05.
Is Reed-Custer Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Reed-Custer Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Reed-Custer Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Reed-Custer Elementary School is approximately 13.0:1 (53 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Reed-Custer Elementary School?
At Reed-Custer Elementary School, the student body is approximately 82% White, 13% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
Is Reed-Custer Elementary School public or private?
Reed-Custer Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Reed Custer CUSD 255U.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.