Schools in Zip Code 62526

ZIP code 62526 has five schools—four elementary schools and one middle school serving grades K–8—in Decatur School District 61, with 2,129 students enrolled. The most important finding is that every school is below the state in both subjects: the schools average 20% proficient in English language arts (ELA), compared with 56% statewide, and 6% in math, compared with 40% statewide.

Robertson Charter School stands out in ELA, at 39% proficient—24 percentage points above the other schools’ 15% average, but still 17 points below the state. Parsons Elementary School leads in math at 12%, 7 points above the other schools’ average and 27 points below the state. At the lower end, Franklin Grove Elementary School has the lowest ELA result, 12%—9 points below the other schools’ average—while Stephen Decatur Middle School has the lowest math result, 4%, 3 points below the other schools’ average.

Across the two years compared, the area average rose about 3 points in ELA and 1 point in math, but its gap with the state remained essentially unchanged in both subjects. Individual results varied: Robertson gained 8 points in ELA, while Parsons gained 6 points in math; Ellsworth Dansby Junior Magnet School declined 1 point in ELA and math, and Stephen Decatur fell 2 points in math. School context also differs: student-teacher ratios ranged from 15.1 at Ellsworth to 29.7 at Robertson in SY 2024–2025, and free/reduced lunch eligible rates ranged from 64% at Robertson to 90% at Franklin Grove that year. Chronic absenteeism ranged from 21% at Ellsworth to 62% at Stephen Decatur in SY 2025–2026, versus 24% statewide. Schools serve different grade spans, and some grade-specific results were suppressed, so not every school-to-school comparison is available.