Summary:
The 61741 zip code area is home to two middle schools: Prairie Central Upper Elementary and Prairie Central Junior High School, both part of the Prairie Central CUSD 8 district. While Prairie Central Upper Elementary stands out as a relatively high-performing school, the junior high school appears to be performing closer to the district and state averages.
Prairie Central Upper Elementary boasts significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Science compared to the district and state, with 60.6% and 73.3% proficiency, respectively. In contrast, Prairie Central Junior High School's proficiency rates in ELA and Math hover around 30-40% and 20-30%, respectively, across 7th and 8th grades. Both schools, however, face higher-than-average chronic absenteeism rates, with 19.3% at the upper elementary and 22% at the junior high.
Economically, the schools serve a significant population of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with free/reduced lunch rates of 48.1% at Prairie Central Upper Elementary and 42.54% at Prairie Central Junior High School. The higher spending per student at the junior high school, $14,782 compared to $13,325 at the upper elementary, may reflect the different resource needs and programming required for the older grade levels. Despite these challenges, both schools maintain relatively low student-teacher ratios, which can be beneficial for providing more individualized attention.
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