Summary:
The city of Braidwood, Illinois is home to three public schools serving students from elementary through high school: Reed-Custer Elementary School, Reed-Custer High School, and Reed-Custer Middle School. These schools are part of the Reed Custer CUSD 255U district.
Among the three schools, Reed-Custer Middle School stands out as the highest performer, consistently ranking in the top 25% of Illinois middle schools over the past 3 years and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's test scores are impressive, with 69.5% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 37.2% proficient or better in Mathematics across all grades in 2024-2025, outperforming the district and state averages. In contrast, Reed-Custer High School lags behind, with only 43.8% proficiency in ACT English and 27.1% in ACT Math for 11th graders.
While the schools have relatively low student-teacher ratios, ranging from 10.1 at the middle school to 13 at the elementary school, they face challenges such as high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 25.4% to 25.4%, and a significant population of economically disadvantaged students, with 42.16% to 45.88% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. The district's per-student spending, which varies from $16,456 at the elementary school to $21,206 at the high school, suggests a commitment to investing in education, but the mixed academic performance indicates opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of that spending.
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