Summary:
The East St. Louis School District 189 in Illinois is home to 6 elementary schools, serving students from early childhood through 5th grade. This district faces significant challenges, with high poverty rates and low academic performance across most of its schools. However, the data reveals a few standout schools that are outperforming the district and state averages.
Annette Officer Elementary and James Avant Elementary School are the top-performing elementary schools in the district, with significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math compared to their peers. In 2024-2025, Annette Officer had 42.1% of students proficient or better in ELA and 34% in Math, while James Avant had 39.2% proficient in ELA and 29.5% in Math. These schools are outpacing the district and state averages by a wide margin.
Despite the challenges facing the East St. Louis School District 189 as a whole, which ranks 759 out of 811 districts in Illinois, the data suggests that with the right resources and strategies, schools in the district can achieve stronger academic outcomes. The high per-student spending, ranging from $23,439 to $28,897 per student, indicates that funding alone is not the sole driver of performance. Factors such as instructional quality, school leadership, and student/family support services likely play a key role in the success of the top-performing schools.
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