Yankee Ridge Elementary School

Yankee Ridge Elementary School is a public elementary school in Urbana, Illinois, serving 404 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Urbana School District 116, which has a 0-star rating and is ranked 767 out of 813 districts in the state.

Yankee Ridge Elementary School faces significant challenges, including a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism, from 11.3% in 2019-2020 to 45.8% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the state average of 27.5%. Academically, the school consistently underperforms compared to state and district averages in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, with only 12.4% of students proficient or better in ELA and 9.8% in Mathematics, far below the state averages of 41.2% and 28.4%, respectively. The school also struggles to support the academic achievement of various student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 30% of Illinois elementary schools for African American, White, Special Education, and Low Socioeconomic Status students.

When comparing Yankee Ridge Elementary School to other nearby schools within the Urbana School District 116, it becomes evident that the school is underperforming. For example, Leal Elementary School, also in the Urbana district, outperforms Yankee Ridge in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency rates, as well as in overall school ranking. The high chronic absenteeism rate at Yankee Ridge appears to be directly correlated with the school's poor academic performance, suggesting that addressing attendance issues could be a crucial step in improving student outcomes.