Tri-Valley Middle School

Tri-Valley Middle School is a middle-of-the-pack 6-8 campus in Downs, Illinois, one of the schools within Tri Valley CUSD 3. The school caters to 450 students in grades 4 through 8.

Within Tri Valley CUSD 3, which oversees 3 schools and 1,074 students, Tri-Valley Middle School is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Tri-Valley Middle School lists that 90% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest reads as 5% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. By comparison, McLean County as a whole is about 78% White, so the school skews visibly more White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.0:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 9% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against McLean County (around 40%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Tri-Valley Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 66.5%; this one delivers 69.2%.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (McLean County) records that median household income runs about $79,905, roughly 47% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, McLean County runs 60 public schools (combined enrollment of about 23,759 students), of which Tri-Valley Middle School is one.

The closest other public school is Tri-Valley High School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Tri-Valley Middle School comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 51.5%.

Tri-Valley Middle School operates from an outlying location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 24%: 363 students in 2018 compared to 450 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 94% to 90% across the same window.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.