Schools in Zip Code 61876

Zip code 61876 has two schools in Salt Fork Community Unit District 512, serving PK through grade 8 and enrolling 356 students together. The schools show different academic strengths: in 2025–2026, Salt Fork Junior High School was strongest in all-grade English Language Arts (ELA), while Salt Fork South Elementary School led in mathematics. The most important shared concern is that both schools’ mathematics results were below the state result.

Salt Fork Junior High School stood out in ELA, with 57% proficiency—about matching the state’s 56%—compared with 40% at the elementary school, a 16-point local gap. In mathematics, the elementary school led with 33% versus 22% at the junior high, but both were below the state’s 40%: by 6 and 17 points, respectively. Science results also differed: grade 5 at the elementary school reached 70%, 22 points above its grade-specific state result, while grade 8 at the junior high was 36%, 16 points below its grade-specific state result. SchoolDigger ranked the elementary school at the 52nd percentile statewide and the junior high at the 32nd percentile in 2025–2026. The all-grade and science comparisons involve different grade spans or grades, so they are not like-for-like student comparisons.

Recent results moved in different directions: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, elementary ELA fell 5 points and mathematics fell 8, while junior-high ELA rose 3 points and mathematics rose 6. Science improved at both schools: 20 points in grade 5 and 14 points in grade 8. As additional context, in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible students made up 77% at the elementary school and 56% at the junior high; student–teacher ratios were 9 and 16.6, respectively. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 12% at each school, well below the state’s 24%. These figures describe different aspects of the schools and do not explain the score patterns.