Summary:
The 61281 zip code is home to a single middle school, Sherrard Junior High School, which serves grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 206 students. While the school has some positive attributes, such as reasonable spending per student and a favorable student-teacher ratio, it faces several challenges that are impacting academic performance.
Sherrard Junior High School's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math are consistently lower than the district and state averages, indicating the school is underperforming compared to its peers. The school's ELA proficiency rate for all grades was 44.9% in 2024-2025, compared to 47.3% for the district and 53.1% for the state. Similarly, the Math proficiency rate for all grades was 28.3%, compared to 33.4% for the district and 38.5% for the state. Additionally, the school's performance has declined over the past few years, with proficiency rates in both ELA and Math dropping from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025.
Another area of concern is the school's high chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4% in 2024-2025, which may be contributing to the lower academic performance. The school also faces some socioeconomic challenges, with 34.47% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024. Despite these challenges, the school's spending per student of $10,589 and student-teacher ratio of 13.5 are within typical ranges, suggesting the resource allocation is not a major factor in the school's performance. Overall, Sherrard CUSD 200 and the community may need to explore targeted interventions to address the underlying issues and improve the academic outcomes at Sherrard Junior High School.
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