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Garden Hills Elementary School

Q: Is Garden Hills Elementary School a good school?

Garden Hills Elementary School ranks in the bottom 4.9% of Illinois elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Garden Hills Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 411 students attended Garden Hills Elementary School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Garden Hills Elementary School?

Students at Garden Hills Elementary School are 58% African American, 27% Hispanic, 7% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

Public Grades PK, KG-8

1955^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools

Better than 5% of Illinois elementary schools

Summary

Garden Hills Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in Champaign, Illinois, with 359 students enrolled. The school is part of the Champaign CUSD 4 district, which is ranked 631 out of 811 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Garden Hills Elementary School consistently performs significantly below the district and state averages on standardized tests. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 14.8% of all students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 38.8% for the district and 53.1% for the state. In math, only 8.2% of all students were proficient or better, compared to 29.6% for the district and 38.5% for the state. The school also struggles to serve its diverse student population, ranking in the bottom 25% of Illinois elementary schools for African American, Hispanic, English Language Learner, Special Education, and Low Socioeconomic Status students.

Garden Hills Elementary School's performance has been declining over the past several years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 1378 out of 2052 Illinois elementary schools in 2014-2015 to 1955 out of 2056 in 2024-2025. The school's high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 25.4% to 44.0% over the past few years, are also significantly higher than the state average. Despite spending more per student than the state average, Garden Hills Elementary School is not achieving the same level of academic success as some of the nearby schools, such as International Prep Academy, Bottenfield Elementary, Stratton Elementary, and South Side Elementary, which have higher academic proficiency rates and lower chronic absenteeism.

411

Students ?

16.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,949

Per pupil spending ?

78.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2001 Garden Hills Dr
Champaign, IL 61821-1522

(217) 351-3872

District: Champaign CUSD 4

Racial breakdown:

African American:

57.9%

Hispanic:

27.0%

White:

6.8%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Garden Hills Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 33rd percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Illinois average (10% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (44% vs 25% Illinois)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school10%

District avg33%

Illinois avg44%

Elementary school

1,955^th of 2,056

Illinois public elementary schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 28 pts since 2015

From bottom 33% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

1,289^th of 1,368

Illinois public middle schools ?

Bottom 6%

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

12^th of 12Elementary Schools in the Champaign CUSD 4

631^st of 811Champaign CUSD 4 among Illinois districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	9.7	1955 of 2056	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	1883 of 2067	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.3	1991 of 2077	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.9	2007 of 2082	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.4	1700 of 1948	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	8.9	2038 of 2086	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.3	1938 of 2037	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	16.3	1787 of 2044	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	28.6	1466 of 2046	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.1	1378 of 2052	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2014	12.5	1901 of 2093	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	24.5	1714 of 2167	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	16.9	1910 of 2166	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	34.6	1574 of 2147	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	46.2	1370 of 2139	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	48.7	1305 of 2120	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2008	50.3	1262 of 2092	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	67.5	797 of 2095	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	57.9	1111 of 2086	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	49.6	1238 of 2022	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	40.5	1397 of 2030	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2003	38.8	1403 of 2020	30.5%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	17.5	649 of 688	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	23.3	585 of 655	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	578 of 692	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.4	522 of 684	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	36.9	248 of 428	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	18.6	681 of 711	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	22.9	630 of 698	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	862 of 1049	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	16.1	771 of 788	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.2	777 of 826	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.1	780 of 788	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	28.5	646 of 768	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.6	693 of 743	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.3	693 of 718	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	13.9	1747 of 1942	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	1729 of 1942	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.9	1928 of 1957	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.1	1890 of 1970	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.0	1526 of 1680	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.1	1970 of 2019	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.8	1859 of 1964	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	7.6	978 of 982	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.8	946 of 959	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	952 of 970	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.6	948 of 954	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.5	946 of 955	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.0	893 of 938	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	14.2	1692 of 1800	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.5	1514 of 1793	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	1709 of 1808	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	1687 of 1763	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.1	1297 of 1514	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.7	1781 of 1816	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.7	1705 of 1765	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	1894 of 1947	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.8	1767 of 1959	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	1835 of 1984	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	1872 of 1977	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.2	1520 of 1707	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	1951 of 2019	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.9	1849 of 1972	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	1167 of 1292	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	25.6	937 of 1195	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	1112 of 1156	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.2	1024 of 1113	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.9	891 of 1194	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

Disabled (2025)18th percentile+13 vs school

Female (2025)10th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2025)10th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile~ school

African American (2025)6th percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2025)2nd percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)<1st percentile-5 vs school

Middle school

Female (2025)16th percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)8th percentile~ school

Male (2025)2nd percentile-4 vs school

African American (2025)2nd percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts15%-38 vs state

Mathematics8%-30 vs state

Science7%-34 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Thursday, May 4, 2023

I taught at this school longer than most. I can tell you that if community members walked into this school on a regular basis and saw what was happening, it would probably be shut down. The admin and staff have seen a tremendous amount of turnover. Champaign Unit 4 knows this school is a dumping ground, but they have done little to change it.
I want to place a particularly heavy emphasis on how bad the last 2 head principals have been. You can look their names up if you like. The current head principal is so passive-aggressive that she has literally driven out 95+ of her staff in the past 3 years. To the former teachers here, congrats on making it through and doing your part. No one knows how bad it is except those who have been there.

To potential future teachers, if the current admin of 2022-23 is still in place, DO NOT APPLY.
To parents, if you care at all about your kid just get them out of there. Close Quote

by a teacher
Tuesday, April 14, 2020

This school turns over between one third to a half of their staff every year. This includes numerous principal positions as well. Severe discipline issues plague this school, with no answer in sight for almost 2 decades. The district uses this school as a dumping ground. Close Quote

Schools Near Garden Hills Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISA Science (2025)		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)	% Meningococcal (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	ISA Science 5th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th 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	% Meningococcal All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Garden Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2001 Garden Hills Dr	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3872	411	26	16.1	78.6%	28 (6.8%)	238 (57.9%)	111 (27.0%)	15 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.6%)	9.7	1955^th of 2056 public elementary schools	4.9%		14.1	1883^rd of 2067 public elementary schools	8.9%	72	6.8		8.6	20.8	15.2	24.0	9.1		14.8	10.2	13.6	2.2	11.5	3.1		8.2	98.4	98.9	98.9	98.9	99.5	98.4	98.1	5.5	7.4	$14,949	$836	$14,114
Dr Howard Elementary School	Public	K-5	110 N. James	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3866	426	31	13.7	66.4%	91 (21.4%)	205 (48.1%)	50 (11.7%)	44 (10.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (8.2%)	18.5	1704^th of 2056 public elementary schools	17.1%		36.8	1223^rd of 2067 public elementary schools	40.8%	481	15.3		29.4	35.3	10.2				25.6	30.9	25.0	5.1				21.0	96.8	96.8	96.8	96.8	96.8	96.8	96.8			$17,146	$421	$16,725
Stratton Elementary School	Public	K-5	902 N Randolph St	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 373-7330	454	32	14.4	75.6%	38 (8.4%)	309 (68.1%)	70 (15.4%)	22 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.3%)	14.5	1801^st of 2056 public elementary schools	12.4%		22.5	1609^th of 2067 public elementary schools	22.2%	192	14.1		15.4	28.8	16.7				20.1	20.9	25.8	10.1				18.4	97.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	100.0	97.9	97.4			$17,559	$1,025	$16,534
Westview Elementary School	Public	K-5	703 S Russell St	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3905	434	29	14.9	55.3%	146 (33.6%)	170 (39.2%)	63 (14.5%)	23 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (6.9%)	42.5	1153^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	43.9%		30.4	1385^th of 2067 public elementary schools	33.0%	232	48.5		32.9	28.8	53.6				38.5	36.2	28.8	40.0				35.1	98.3	98.6	98.6	98.6	99.0	98.3	98.3			$14,872	$810	$14,061
South Side Elementary School	Public	K-5	715 S New St	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3890	307	21	14.6	42.7%	142 (46.3%)	73 (23.8%)	34 (11.1%)	20 (6.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	36 (11.7%)	67.8	647^th of 2056 public elementary schools	68.5%		69.7	556^th of 2067 public elementary schools	73.1%	91	33.3		69.4	61.2	44.7				58.6	79.6	61.2	40.4				60.7	97.6	97.6	97.6	97.6	97.6	97.6	97.6			$15,942	$340	$15,602
Kenwood Elementary School	Public	K-5	1001 Stratford Dr	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3815	402	27	15.1	56.7%	132 (32.8%)	158 (39.3%)	30 (7.5%)	38 (9.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (10.4%)	36.9	1279^th of 2056 public elementary schools	37.8%		54	841^st of 2067 public elementary schools	59.3%	438	36.2		37.5	46.7	32.6				38.7	34.3	37.0	23.9				32.1	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4			$16,655	$849	$15,806
Washington Elementary School	Public	K-5	606 E Grove St	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3901	265	14	19.6	75.8%	31 (11.7%)	176 (66.4%)	25 (9.4%)	17 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.0%)	11	1910^th of 2056 public elementary schools	7.1%		13.5	1918^th of 2067 public elementary schools	7.2%	8	16.3		14.6	23.7	16.3				18.0	14.3	15.4	7.0				12.1	96.0	96.0	96.0	96.0	97.1	96.0	95.7			$17,658	$1,515	$16,142
International Prep Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	1605 W Kirby Ave	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3995	681	51	13.3	55.8%	91 (13.4%)	76 (11.2%)	478 (70.2%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (4.7%)	38.8	1233^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	40.0%		37.5	1212^th of 2067 public elementary schools	41.4%	21	33.9	41.7	32.9	42.1	48.4	45.2	29.3	42.5	39.8	38.2	38.2	24.2	21.0	30.5	20.0	29.9	98.0	98.0	98.0	98.0	98.0	98.0	98.0		24.6	$15,311	$547	$14,764
M L King Junior Elementary School	Public	K-5	1108 Fairview Ave	Urbana	61801	Champaign County	Urbana School District 116	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 384-3675	322	25	12.8	85.1%	40 (12.4%)	178 (55.3%)	22 (6.8%)	61 (18.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)	7.6	2011^th of 2056 public elementary schools	2.2%		11.8	1984^th of 2067 public elementary schools	4.0%	27	9.4		13.0	11.5	13.0				12.5	19.6	5.8	3.7				9.2	98.7	98.4	98.4	98.4	100.0	96.1	98.1			$16,597	$1,776	$14,820
Bottenfield Elementary School	Public	K-5	1801 S Prospect Ave	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3807	456	31	14.8	46.9%	171 (37.5%)	145 (31.8%)	34 (7.5%)	55 (12.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (11.0%)	45.4	1101^st of 2056 public elementary schools	46.4%		55.5	810^th of 2067 public elementary schools	60.8%	291	36.3		53.1	38.4	36.3				41.7	59.4	31.5	28.6				38.2	96.6	96.4	96.4	96.4	100.0	96.2	96.6			$14,823	$863	$13,960

Frequently Asked Questions about Garden Hills Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Garden Hills Elementary School?

Students at Garden Hills Elementary School are 58% African American, 27% Hispanic, 7% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

How many students attend Garden Hills Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 411 students attended Garden Hills Elementary School.

Is Garden Hills Elementary School a good school?

Garden Hills Elementary School ranks in the bottom 4.9% of Illinois elementary schools.

What district is Garden Hills Elementary School in?

Champaign CUSD 4

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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.