Summary:
Thornton School District 154 is a small school district in Illinois that serves the community of Thornton. The district has only one elementary school, Wolcott School, which serves students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
While Wolcott School was previously ranked among the top 40% of Illinois elementary schools, its performance has declined in recent years. The school's statewide ranking has dropped from 821 out of 2,077 schools in 2022-2023 to 1,080 out of 2,056 in 2024-2025, and its SchoolDigger rating has decreased from 3 stars to 2 stars. Proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are generally lower than the state averages, with the exception of 5th and 8th grade ELA, where the school outperforms the state. Additionally, the school's science proficiency rates for 5th and 8th grade are also lower than the state averages.
Wolcott School faces several challenges, including a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (50%) and a chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4%, which is significantly higher than the state average. Despite the school's higher per-student spending ($16,381) and relatively low student-teacher ratio (12.6 to 1), its academic performance does not appear to be commensurate with the resources available. This suggests that the school may need to re-evaluate its resource allocation and instructional strategies to better support student learning and address the needs of its student population.
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