Summary:
The city of Urbana, Illinois is home to 6 elementary schools that are part of the Urbana School District 116, which is ranked 786 out of 811 school districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. While the district faces significant academic challenges, with wide performance gaps compared to state averages, Leal Elementary School stands out as the highest-performing school in the area.
Leal Elementary has the highest statewide ranking among Urbana's elementary schools, ranking 1220 out of 2056 Illinois elementary schools in 2024-2025 and receiving a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's test scores are notably higher than the district and state averages, with 39.2% of Leal students proficient or better in ELA compared to 20.9% for the district and 53.1% for the state. Leal also has the lowest percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at 57.33%, and spends the most per student at $15,586.
In contrast, the other elementary schools in Urbana face significant challenges, with chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4% across the district, well above the state average. Test scores at these schools are also significantly lower than state averages, with only 8.2% of students at Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr. Elementary proficient or better in ELA. The high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 69.89% to 87.62%, indicate that the Urbana schools serve predominantly low-income communities, which likely contributes to the academic struggles faced by these schools.
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