Is American Dreamer STEM Academy a good school?

American Dreamer STEM Academy ranks in the bottom 2.6% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend American Dreamer STEM Academy?

In the 2023-24 school year, 364 students attended American Dreamer STEM Academy.

What is the racial makeup of American Dreamer STEM Academy?

Students at American Dreamer STEM Academy are 70% African American, 17% White, 11% Two or more races, 1% Hispanic.

American Dreamer STEM Academy

Summary:

American Dreamer STEM Academy is an elementary school located in Decatur, Illinois, serving grades K-8 with a total enrollment of 391 students. The school is part of the Decatur School District 61, which is ranked 806 out of 813 school districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

American Dreamer STEM Academy faces significant challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 27.4% to 37.4%, which are much higher than the state and district averages. The school's academic performance is also a concern, as it consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of Illinois elementary schools, with low proficiency rates on state assessments across all grade levels and subject areas. This poor performance is particularly pronounced for certain student subgroups, such as female students, male students, African American students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Despite the relatively high per-student spending at American Dreamer STEM Academy, the school's academic struggles persist. When compared to nearby schools in the Decatur School District 61, such as Michael E Baum Elementary School, Parsons Elementary School, and Hope Academy, it becomes clear that the challenges faced by American Dreamer STEM Academy are not unique, as many of these nearby schools also struggle with low academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and high percentages of students from low-income families.

Detail:

Public K-8

2115 S Taylor Rd
Decatur, IL 62521-9103

(217) 362-3380

District: Decatur School District 61

SchoolDigger Rank:
2014^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $19,032

Student/teacher ratio: 14.0

Number of students: 364

Racial breakdown:

African American:

70.1%

White:

17.3%

Two or more races:

11.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77.2%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare American Dreamer STEM Academy to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details American Dreamer STEM Academy ranks worse than 97.4% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 7^th among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Decatur School District 61. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.99. (See more...)

Compare Details American Dreamer STEM Academy ranks worse than 94.6% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.06. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (70.1%), White (17.3%), two or more races (11.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at American Dreamer STEM Academy is 14, which is the lowest among 12 elementary schools in the Decatur School District 61! (See more...)

Compare American Dreamer STEM Academy employs 26 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at American Dreamer STEM Academy is $19,032, which is the 3^rd highest among 11 elementary schools in the Decatur School District 61.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

American Dreamer STEM Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks American Dreamer STEM Academy 2014^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See American Dreamer STEM Academy in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks American Dreamer STEM Academy 1290^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See American Dreamer STEM Academy in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Decatur School District 61:

SchoolDigger ranks Decatur School District 61 806^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for American Dreamer STEM Academy

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Rank History for all elementary school students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	58.77	1017^th	2020	49.7%
2004	64.33	863^rd	2030	57.5%
2005	35.14	1490^th	2022	26.3%
2006	29.21	1671^st	2086	19.9%
2007	47.48	1375^th	2095	34.4%
2008	49.06	1283^rd	2092	38.7%
2009	49.90	1282^nd	2120	39.5%
2010	46.71	1359^th	2139	36.5%
2011	27.30	1713^th	2147	20.2%
2012	26.18	1739^th	2166	19.7%
2013	23.02	1742^nd	2167	19.6%
2014	31.80	1496^th	2093	28.5%
2015	18.00	1759^th	2052	14.3%
2016	10.75	1950^th	2046	4.7%
2017	8.55	2000^th	2044	2.2%
2018	7.53	2024^th	2037	0.6%
2019	8.60	2043^rd	2086	2.1%
2021	13.06	1858^th	1948	4.6%
2022	12.17	1988^th	2082	4.5%
2023	10.39	2029^th	2077	2.3%
2024	10.99	2014^th	2067	2.6%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	9.44	1756^th	1765	0.5%
2019	11.90	1775^th	1816	2.3%
2021	19.09	1409^th	1514	6.9%
2022	17.02	1673^rd	1763	5.1%
2023	13.97	1770^th	1808	2.1%
2024	14.47	1742^nd	1793	2.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	7.17	1954^th	1964	0.5%
2019	7.88	1992^nd	2019	1.3%
2021	12.33	1604^th	1680	4.5%
2022	13.04	1854^th	1970	5.9%
2023	10.75	1908^th	1957	2.5%
2024	13.43	1820^th	1942	6.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	9.68	1936^th	1972	1.8%
2019	11.41	1919^th	2019	5.0%
2021	11.75	1675^th	1707	1.9%
2022	12.29	1910^th	1977	3.4%
2023	11.38	1915^th	1984	3.5%
2024	10.29	1923^rd	1959	1.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	18.70	672^nd	698	3.7%
2019	22.56	645^th	711	9.3%
2021	30.78	320^th	428	25.2%
2022	27.34	572^nd	684	16.4%
2023	22.66	633^rd	692	8.5%
2024	23.89	580^th	655	11.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for American Dreamer STEM Academy

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Rank History for all middle school students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	12.41	1182^nd	1241	4.8%
2022	13.45	1288^th	1369	5.9%
2023	11.53	1312^th	1367	4.0%
2024	12.06	1290^th	1363	5.4%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	19.00	934^th	1019	8.3%
2022	19.96	1091^st	1221	10.6%
2023	16.67	1154^th	1234	6.5%
2024	17.10	1109^th	1219	9.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	9.69	996^th	1017	2.1%
2022	11.65	1239^th	1286	3.7%
2023	11.62	1218^th	1275	4.5%
2024	9.75	1223^rd	1251	2.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	12.96	1003^rd	1048	4.3%
2022	16.30	1148^th	1286	10.7%
2023	12.25	1238^th	1292	4.2%
2024	16.21	1125^th	1264	11.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at American Dreamer STEM Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	27.40	323^rd	385	16.1%
2022	27.16	481^st	573	16.1%
2023	20.78	530^th	569	6.9%
2024	23.97	461^st	548	15.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for American Dreamer STEM Academy

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	111	138	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	250
1990	164	95	n/a	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	261
1991	181	102	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	285
1992	214	122	1	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	340
1993	227	135	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	364
1994	230	143	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	375
1995	233	139	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	374
1996	233	139	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	374
1997	236	149	1	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	386
1998	233	148	1	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	382
1999	232	147	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	379
2000	228	148	1	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	379
2001	220	160	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	382
2002	195	181	1	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	379
2003	195	181	1	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	379
2004	178	187	2	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	369
2005	167	186	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	12	367
2006	150	199	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	19	369
2007	133	196	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	20	350
2008	109	218	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	33	360
2009	92	198	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	25	315
2010	84	214	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	28	326
2011	83	205	0	0	0	0	32	0	320
2012	64	232	0	5	0	0	23	0	324
2013	45	243	0	3	0	0	26	0	317
2014	28	244	0	2	0	0	23	0	297
2015	33	235	0	2	1	0	23	0	294
2016	32	230	0	3	2	0	37	0	304
2017	35	231	0	3	2	0	39	0	310
2018	33	231	0	4	0	0	25	0	293
2019	38	234	0	4	0	0	26	0	302
2020	41	282	4	4	0	0	1	0	332
2021	58	278	0	4	0	0	40	0	380
2022	56	299	0	4	0	0	42	0	401
2023	65	280	1	7	1	0	37	0	391
2024	63	255	0	5	0	0	41	0	364

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at American Dreamer STEM Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	250	12.5	20.0	n/a
1990	261	15.5	16.8	n/a
1991	285	15.0	19.0	n/a
1992	340	16.0	21.2	n/a
1993	364	17.0	21.4	n/a
1994	375	16.0	23.4	n/a
1995	374	17.0	22.0	n/a
1996	374	17.0	22.0	n/a
1997	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1998	382	18.0	21.2	n/a
1999	379	18.0	21.1	n/a
2000	379	18.0	21.1	n/a
2001	382	20.0	19.1	n/a
2002	379	18.0	21.1	56.2
2003	379	18.0	21.1	56.2
2004	369	18.0	20.5	59.6
2005	367	19.0	19.3	57.7
2006	369	19.0	19.4	62.3
2007	350	19.0	18.4	n/a
2008	360	17.0	21.2	70.9
2009	315	20.0	15.8	n/a
2010	326	20.0	16.3	n/a
2011	320	15.1	21.1	75.9
2012	324	16.0	20.2	84
2013	317	23.6	13.4	88.3
2014	297	15.0	19.8	78.1
2015	294	20.0	14.7	87.8
2016	304	13.0	23.3	81.6
2017	310	17.5	17.6	82.3
2018	293	19.5	15.0	88.4
2019	302	18.0	16.7	76.2
2020	332	15.0	22.1	90.7
2021	380	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	401	21.0	19.0	86
2023	391	19.0	20.5	90
2024	364	26.0	14.0	77.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio American Dreamer STEM Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	250	12.5	20.0	n/a
1990	261	15.5	16.8	n/a
1991	285	15.0	19.0	n/a
1992	340	16.0	21.2	n/a
1993	364	17.0	21.4	n/a
1994	375	16.0	23.4	n/a
1995	374	17.0	22.0	n/a
1996	374	17.0	22.0	n/a
1997	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1998	382	18.0	21.2	n/a
1999	379	18.0	21.1	n/a
2000	379	18.0	21.1	n/a
2001	382	20.0	19.1	n/a
2002	379	18.0	21.1	56.2
2003	379	18.0	21.1	56.2
2004	369	18.0	20.5	59.6
2005	367	19.0	19.3	57.7
2006	369	19.0	19.4	62.3
2007	350	19.0	18.4	n/a
2008	360	17.0	21.2	70.9
2009	315	20.0	15.8	n/a
2010	326	20.0	16.3	n/a
2011	320	15.1	21.1	75.9
2012	324	16.0	20.2	84
2013	317	23.6	13.4	88.3
2014	297	15.0	19.8	78.1
2015	294	20.0	14.7	87.8
2016	304	13.0	23.3	81.6
2017	310	17.5	17.6	82.3
2018	293	19.5	15.0	88.4
2019	302	18.0	16.7	76.2
2020	332	15.0	22.1	90.7
2021	380	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	401	21.0	19.0	86
2023	391	19.0	20.5	90
2024	364	26.0	14.0	77.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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