South Side Grade School

South Side Grade School is one of the compact elementary-level communitys in Effingham, Illinois, operated by Effingham CUSD 40, with 248 students on its rolls from grades 1 through 2. Enrollment runs roughly 35% below the state mean of about 381.

Within Effingham CUSD 40, which oversees 6 schools and 2,261 students, South Side Grade School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, South Side Grade School records that nearly all students (86%) are White; the rest comes out to 10% Hispanic, 2% Black. The wider county runs roughly 96% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, The school lists 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 9.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Roughly 54% of students at South Side Grade School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Effingham County runs at roughly 37%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

Around the school, Effingham County reports that median household earnings sit near $80,404, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. South Side Grade School is one of 18 public schools in Effingham County (combined enrollment of about 5,063 students).

Effingham Junior High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools.

South Side Grade School operates from a town-center location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at South Side Grade School has shrank 23%, going from 322 students in 2018 to 248 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 5% to 10%. Class-load math has fell: from 13.3:1 in 2018 to 9.9:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for South Side Grade School typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.