Best Public Schools in Philo, IL

Philo, Illinois is home to a single standout elementary school, Unity East, which serves grades PK-5 and is part of the Tolono CUSD 7 school district. Unity East consistently ranks in the top 20% of Illinois elementary schools, maintaining a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger over the past 3 school years.

Unity East outperforms the Tolono CUSD 7 district and the state of Illinois in several key academic metrics. In the 2024-2025 school year, 67.8% of Unity East students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 59.5% for the district and 53.1% for the state. In Math, 61% of Unity East students were proficient or better, compared to 43.6% for the district and 38.5% for the state. Additionally, 5th grade Science proficiency was 69.4% at Unity East, 66.3% for the district, and 40.6% for the state.

Unity East's academic excellence is supported by its higher per-student spending of $22,033 and a lower student-teacher ratio of 11.1, both of which are above the state averages. However, the school's relatively low free/reduced lunch rate of 20.33% suggests it may serve a more affluent student population, raising questions about educational equity in the Philo area.