Enrollment
335
Elementary
DISTRICT 455 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR SD 61·NCES 171185001418
South Shores Elementary School
2500 S Franklin Street Rd, Decatur, IL 62521 · (217) 362-3321 · Macon County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL335 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 1% of Illinois public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
87%
292 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 48 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 52 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 51 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 14% |
| Grade 6 | 50 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (50).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
South Shores Elementary School→Stephen Decatur Middle School
Based on grade levels within Decatur SD 61. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at South Shores Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
11.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +5.4pp since 2023
Math
4.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +3.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 11 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 4 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 11.4% | 4.0% |
| 2023-24 | 6.0% | 0.6% |
% 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
8.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
21.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 8% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 21% 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 South Shores Elementary School
South Shores Elementary School's state test result (8.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Shores Elementary School this school | 335 | 87.2% | 8.0% |
| Michael E Baum Elementary School Decatur | 313 | 86.6% | 16.4% |
| Sheridan Elementary School Bloomington | 314 | 82.8% | 15.2% |
| Muffley Elementary School Decatur | 386 | 84.5% | 10.8% |
| Harvard Park Elementary School Springfield | 370 | 87.6% | 11.8% |
| Dr. C.T. Vivian Primary School Peoria | 378 | 84.7% | 27.9% |
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 South Shores Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 8.0% | #1,908 of 1,925 | #14 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 4.0% | #2,049 of 2,077 ▲ 17 | #14 of 16 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 11.4% | #2,052 of 2,077 ▼ 21 | #13 of 16 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 335 | #1,342 of 2,419 | #16 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.5:1 | #1,946 of 2,035 | #15 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.6% | #427 of 2,042 | #7 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 87.2% | #356 of 2,132 | #5 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.4% | #219 of 615 | #8 of 10 |
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
335
+11 (+3%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 331
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 | 335 | 18.1 | 18.5:1 | 87% (292) |
| 2023-24 | 338 | 16 | 21.1:1 | 73% (248) |
| 2022-23 | 328 | 20 | 16.4:1 | 80% (264) |
| 2020-21 | 324 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 298 | 19 | 15.7:1 | 69% (206) |
| 2015-16 | 278 | 16 | 17.4:1 | 78% (217) |
| 2010-11 | 355 | 17 | 20.9:1 | 77% (273) |
| 2000-01 | 350 | 14 | 25.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 331 | 13 | 25.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Shores Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (298 to 335); teachers down 5% (19 to 18.1).
About South Shores Elementary School
Among the schools in Decatur, Illinois, is South Shores Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school. It had 335 students in 2024-25, spanning kindergarten through 6.
Decatur SD 61 (15 schools, 7,840 students) runs South Shores Elementary School.
Of every 100 students at South Shores Elementary School, about 51 are Black. It is also 26% White, 18% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. Macon County's residents are about 16% Black, 35 points below the school's share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 64%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Shores Elementary School is 18.5:1, based on 18.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1. Lunch program data show 87% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. On average, public schools in Macon County report 61%.
Among Illinois public elementary schools, South Shores Elementary School outscored 1%, which works out to an F on the allk12 Grade.
Schools in Illinois with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 21.2%. South Shores Elementary School scores 8.0%.
The county, Macon County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $62,666, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 24% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. The county has 43 public schools and about 14,702 students.
Dennis Lab School is about 0.5 miles from South Shores Elementary School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The nearest schools with test data average 12.2%, higher than South Shores Elementary School's 8.0%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Small.
Enrollment figures show a rise of 11 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at South Shores Elementary School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Macon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
101,849
Census ACS
Median income
$62,666
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
14,702 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decatur SD 61
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Other schools in Decatur
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Nearby schools
- Dennis Lab School0.5 mi · 579
- Eisenhower High School1.6 mi · 909
- American Dreamer STEM Academy1.7 mi · 423
- Johns Hill Magnet School1.9 mi · 627
- Muffley Elementary School2.3 mi · 386
- Hope Academy2.8 mi · 501
Frequently asked questions
About South Shores Elementary SchoolHow many students attend South Shores Elementary School?
South Shores Elementary School enrolls approximately 335 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does South Shores Elementary School serve?
South Shores Elementary School serves grades KG-06.
How many teachers does South Shores Elementary School have?
South Shores Elementary School employs 18 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.5:1.
What is the student diversity at South Shores Elementary School?
Student demographics at South Shores Elementary School are roughly 26% White, 4% Hispanic, 51% Black, 18% Two or more.
Who oversees South Shores Elementary School?
South Shores Elementary School is overseen by Decatur SD 61 in Macon County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.