South Prairie Elementary School

South Prairie Elementary School is an elementary-level community of average-sized scale in Sycamore, Illinois, one of the schools within Sycamore CUSD 427, enrolling 456 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Within Sycamore CUSD 427, which oversees 7 schools and 3,720 students, South Prairie Elementary School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, South Prairie Elementary School logs that the largest single group is White, at 71% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school logs 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, 5% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, South Prairie Elementary School has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.6:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 34% of students at South Prairie Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably below DeKalb County's rate of about 48%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, South Prairie Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 51.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 46.0%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for DeKalb County put the typical household earns roughly $70,724 per year, about 33% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across DeKalb County's 43 public schools (combined enrollment of about 16,328 students), South Prairie Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Sycamore High School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around South Prairie Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts South Prairie Elementary School at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 41.1%.

The school occupies a residential site.

Trend over the last 7 years. South Prairie Elementary School's enrollment has rose 70% since 2018, when it stood at 268 (now 456). The White share of enrollment declined from 81% to 71% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 16.6:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for South Prairie Elementary School typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.