Sparta High School

Located at 205 W Hood St, in Sparta, Illinois, Sparta High School is a rural-scale secondary school that teaches 309 students (grades 9 through 12), run under Sparta CUSD 140. Compared to the state average of about 834 students per school, that is 63% leaner than typical.

Sparta CUSD 140 comprises 3 schools with combined enrollment of 1,153 students; Sparta High School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Sparta High School shows that the largest single group is White, at 75% of enrollment. The remainder is composed of 15% Black, 6% multiracial, 3% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 86% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.1:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 63% of students at Sparta High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Randolph County runs at roughly 51%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Sparta High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 35.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 33.1%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Randolph County) reports that median household earnings sit near $68,131, about 15% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Sparta High School is one of 16 public schools in Randolph County (combined enrollment of about 3,876 students).

Sparta Lincoln School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Sparta High School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 33.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Looking at the recent track record. Sparta High School's enrollment has edged down 11% since 2018, when it stood at 349 (now 309). The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 12.7:1 in 2018 to 14.1:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.