Elementary Schools in Charleston CUSD 1

Summary:

The Charleston CUSD 1 school district in Illinois is home to three elementary schools: Carl Sandburg Elementary School, Mark Twain Elementary School, and Ashmore Elementary School. These schools serve students from kindergarten through 5th grade and provide a range of educational opportunities within the Charleston community.

Among the three schools, Carl Sandburg Elementary School stands out as the largest, with 537 students, and the highest-performing, with 50.8% of students proficient or better in ELA and 51.1% in Math for the 2024-2025 school year. In contrast, Ashmore Elementary School, the smallest with only 72 students, has the lowest test scores, with just 27.6% of students proficient or better in both ELA and Math for the same period. However, Ashmore's test scores have shown some improvement, going from 1 out of 5 SchoolDigger stars in 2023-2024 to 2 out of 5 stars in 2022-2023.

Across the district, the elementary schools face several challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4% and significant proportions of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 54.15% at Mark Twain Elementary to 57.91% at Carl Sandburg Elementary. The district may need to investigate the factors contributing to these disparities and implement strategies to improve performance and address the socioeconomic challenges faced by the schools.

District Detail

410 W Polk Ave
Charleston, IL 61920-2557

(217) 639-1000

SchoolDigger Rank:
641^st of 811 Illinois districts

See the 2025 Illinois District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 2,744

Primary Schools: 3
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				IAR English Language Arts (2025)			IAR Mathematics (2025)			% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% DTP (2024)	% Pneumococcal (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	% Polio All Grades	% Measles All Grades	% Mumps All Grades	% Rubella All Grades	% Hepatitis B All Grades	% Varicella All Grades	% DTP All Grades	% Pneumococcal All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ashmore Elementary School	Public	K-4	313 S Ohio St	Ashmore	61912	Coles County	Charleston CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 349-3000	74	8	9.2	52.7%	62 (83.8%)	1 (1.4%)	3 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (10.8%)	21.9	1617^th of 2056 public elementary schools	21.4%		16	1811^th of 2067 public elementary schools	12.4%	194	23.5	33.3	27.6	35.3	16.7	27.6	95.8	95.8	95.8	95.8	97.2	95.8	95.8		$18,156	$926	$17,230
Carl Sandburg Elementary School	Public	1-3	1924 Reynolds Dr	Charleston	61920	Coles County	Charleston CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 639-4000	555	40	14.0	54.6%	407 (73.3%)	50 (9.0%)	40 (7.2%)	6 (1.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (9.0%)								(n/a)	50.8		50.8	51.1		51.1	95.8	95.2	95.2	95.2	100.0	95.2	95.6		$13,664	$637	$13,027
Mark Twain Elementary School	Public	PK-K	1021 13th St	Charleston	61920	Coles County	Charleston CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 639-8000	221	17	13.3	50.7%	160 (72.4%)	23 (10.4%)	20 (9.0%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.8%)								(n/a)							89.1	88.1	88.1	88.1	99.0	87.6	88.6	11.9	$15,193	$625	$14,568

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Kansas CUSD 3	4.47 mi	2	506^th
Eastern IL Area of Special Educ	4.85 mi	7
Clk/Cls/Cmbn/Dglas/Edgr/Mltr/Shlb	8.63 mi	7
Oakland CUSD 5	8.76 mi	2	695^th
Martinsville CUSD 3C	15.23 mi	2	634^th

See the top IL Illinois districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.