Monroe Elementary School

Monroe Elementary School in London, OH (5000 State Route 38 NW) is a small PK–4 school with 243 students — the smallest in this comparison group — and one of two elementary buildings in the Jonathan Alder Local district. Its defining feature is the gap between district and building: the district ranks in the 73rd percentile statewide with 4 stars, while Monroe Elementary School ranks 39th percentile with 2 stars. About 63% of students are economically disadvantaged, the highest share among nearby schools. The school last earned 3 stars in 2018–19 and has stayed in 2-star territory every year since.

On 2025–26 state tests, Monroe was near the state average in math and somewhat below it in English language arts, but well behind its own district — trailing by about 15 points in math and 14.5 points in ELA. The contrast with Plain City Elementary School stands out: same district, same PK–4 grades, about 10 miles apart, but Plain City ranks 74th percentile with 4 stars and beats Monroe by 27.5 points in 3rd grade math. Norwood Elementary School is another useful benchmark — comparable poverty and absenteeism rates, yet it ranks 23 percentile points higher, which suggests demographics are a headwind rather than a ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is 17.3%, above the district's 13.4% and rising for three straight years. Monroe does have the smallest classes in the region at 15:1, though its spending of $8,771 per student (from 2018–19) is among the lowest nearby. The low-income subgroup has held 1 star for three consecutive years, and male students consistently trail female students. Bright spots: 4th grade ELA jumped 17.7 points in a single year, and the Hispanic students subgroup improved by 25 percentile points over two years.