Stephen Decatur Middle School

Located at 1 Educational Park, in Decatur, Illinois, Stephen Decatur Middle School is a moderately sized middle-grades school that educates 413 students (grades 7 through 8), overseen by Decatur SD 61.

Decatur SD 61 runs 15 schools in total, collectively educating 7,840 students. Stephen Decatur Middle School is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Stephen Decatur Middle School lists that the largest single group is Black at 53%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 29% White, 14% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 16%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Stephen Decatur Middle School shows 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 18.0:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.0:1 average. Roughly 86% of students at Stephen Decatur Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Macon County's rate of about 61%.

With demographic context factored in, Stephen Decatur Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 22.0%; this one delivers 11.2%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Macon County put median household income runs about $62,666, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Macon County runs 43 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,702 students), of which Stephen Decatur Middle School is one.

The closest other public school is Parsons Elementary School, roughly 1.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Stephen Decatur Middle School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Stephen Decatur Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 17.7%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Stephen Decatur Middle School's enrollment has ticked up 20% since 2018, when it stood at 344 (now 413). Black enrollment moved from 45% to 53% across the same window. Class-load math has widened: from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 18.0:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Stephen Decatur Middle School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.