Summary:
The East St Louis School District 189 in Illinois is home to two high schools: East St. Louis Senior High School and SIU Charter School of East St. Louis. Both schools face significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, high poverty levels, and concerning chronic absenteeism rates.
On statewide rankings, East St. Louis Senior High School has consistently placed in the bottom half of Illinois high schools, ranking 640th out of 698 in the 2024-2025 school year. SIU Charter School of East St. Louis fares slightly better, ranking 547th out of 698. However, both schools have a 89.0% four-year graduation rate and a 2.4% dropout rate for the 2024-2025 school year. Chronic absenteeism is a major issue, with both schools reporting a 25.4% rate for the same year.
Academically, the schools perform significantly below state averages in all subject areas, including English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 14.1% of 11th-grade students at East St. Louis Senior High School were proficient or better in ACT/English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 51.7%. The high free and reduced lunch rates, over 89% at both schools, indicate that the student population comes from low-income families, which may contribute to the challenges these schools face. Additionally, there appears to be a funding disparity, with East St. Louis Senior High School spending $28,469 per student compared to $18,996 per student at SIU Charter School of East St. Louis.
Thank you for your feedback!