South Central High School

South Central High School is a rural-scale high school in Farina, Illinois, run under South Central CUD 401. The school hosts 183 students in grades 9 through 12. That puts it 78% smaller than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 834 students.

Within South Central CUD 401, which oversees 3 schools and 592 students, South Central High School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, South Central High School shows that 96% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest is composed of 3% Hispanic.

On the resource side, On paper, South Central High School has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 9.6:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 47% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Fayette County runs at roughly 56%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, On a poverty-adjusted basis, South Central High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 44.4%; actual is 18.6%, a gap of -25.8 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Fayette County indicate median household earnings sit near $60,944, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. South Central High School is one of 15 public schools in Fayette County (combined enrollment of about 2,858 students).

Nearest neighbor: South Central Elementary-Kinmundy, around 5.6 miles off. Within ten miles, there are 2 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. On composite proficiency, South Central High School comes 9th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 34.7%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Five-year trend. South Central High School's enrollment has declined 7% since 2018, when it stood at 197 (now 183). Class-load math has fell: from 11.6:1 in 2018 to 9.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.