Shipman Elem School

Shipman Elem School is one of the modestly sized primary schools in Shipman, Illinois, one of the schools within Southwestern CUSD 9, with 155 students on its rolls from grades 3 through 4. That puts it 59% leaner than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Southwestern CUSD 9 comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 1,149 students; Shipman Elem School is among them.

Demographically, Shipman Elem School lists that 96% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. An estimated 47% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Shipman Elem School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 44.3%; this one delivers 58.3%, a residual of +14.0 points.

Around the school, Macoupin County reports that median household income runs about $70,805, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Shipman Elem School is one of 28 public schools in Macoupin County (combined enrollment of about 7,221 students).

The closest other public school is Southwestern High School, roughly 5.2 miles away. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. On composite proficiency, Shipman Elem School comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 40.8%.

Shipman Elem School operates from a rural location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 25%: 206 students in 2018 compared to 155 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 18.4:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Shipman Elem School typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.