Summary:
The 61322 zip code in Illinois is home to two struggling schools, DePue Elementary School and DePue High School, which are part of the low-performing DePue Unified School District 103. Both schools are ranked in the bottom quartile of their respective school types in Illinois and face significant challenges, including low test scores, high chronic absenteeism rates, and low graduation rates.
DePue Elementary School and DePue High School serve high-poverty student populations, with over 80% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Test scores at both schools are well below state averages, with only 20.7% of DePue Elementary students proficient or better in ELA and math proficiency rates ranging from 0% to 9.1% across grade levels. At DePue High, just 6.3% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in both SAT Math and ELA in 2023-2024.
Attendance and completion issues also plague these schools, with chronic absenteeism rates of 16.7% at DePue Elementary and 24.0% at DePue High. DePue High's 4-year graduation rate is only 76.2%, and the dropout rate was 8.0% in 2020-2021. Despite the schools' challenges, they appear to be spending similar amounts per student as the state average, raising questions about the effective use of resources to support student learning and school improvement. Addressing these systemic issues will likely require a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to support and improve these schools and the broader district.
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