Is Whiteside Elementary School a good school?

Whiteside Elementary School ranks 1110 th of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Whiteside Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 668 students attended Whiteside Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Whiteside Elementary School?

Students at Whiteside Elementary School are 56% African American, 28% White, 9% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Whiteside Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Whiteside Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Whiteside Middle School

Whiteside Elementary School

Summary:

Whiteside Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 670 students in grades PK-4 in Belleville, Illinois, which is part of the Whiteside School District 115. The school has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of Illinois elementary schools, receiving a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

Whiteside Elementary School faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, with only 31.1% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 21.1% proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to state averages of 41.2% and 28.4%, respectively. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching as high as 35.4% in the 2021-2022 school year, significantly above the state average. While the school performs relatively well for its African American and multi-racial student populations, it struggles with its White, Special Education, and Low Socioeconomic Status student populations, ranking in the bottom half of Illinois schools for these subgroups.

When comparing Whiteside Elementary School to nearby schools, it becomes clear that the school is underperforming compared to its peers. For example, Shiloh Elementary School, which is just 3.12 miles away, outperforms Whiteside Elementary School in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency. Additionally, despite a steady increase in per-student spending at Whiteside Elementary School, from $9,178 in the 2019-2020 school year to $11,359 in the 2022-2023 school year, this has not translated into improved academic outcomes, indicating that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to the school's challenges.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-4

2028 Lebanon Ave
Belleville, IL 62221-2523

(618) 239-0000

District: Whiteside School District 115

SchoolDigger Rank:
1110^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,716

Students who attend Whiteside Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:

Whiteside Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.5

Number of students: 668

Racial breakdown:

African American:

55.7%

White:

28.1%

Two or more races:

9.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59.9%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Whiteside Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Whiteside Elementary School ranks worse than 53.7% of elementary schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 42.2. (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 (55.7%), White (28.1%), two or more races (9.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 59.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Whiteside Elementary School is 14.5. (See more...)

Compare Whiteside Elementary School employs 45.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Whiteside Elementary School is $11,716.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Whiteside Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Whiteside Elementary School 1110^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Whiteside Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

White students:

Whiteside School District 115:

SchoolDigger ranks Whiteside School District 115 607^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Whiteside Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	63.68	892^nd	2020	55.8%
2004	61.92	929^th	2030	54.2%
2005	56.54	1085^th	2022	46.3%
2006	59.26	1073^rd	2086	48.6%
2007	64.96	883^rd	2095	57.9%
2008	65.09	890^th	2092	57.5%
2009	50.00	1278^th	2120	39.7%
2010	43.72	1417^th	2139	33.8%
2011	44.79	1394^th	2147	35.1%
2012	59.76	1048^th	2166	51.6%
2013	38.57	1431^st	2167	34.0%
2014	49.59	1109^th	2093	47.0%
2015	47.70	956^th	2052	53.4%
2016	37.77	1220^th	2046	40.4%
2017	32.82	1340^th	2044	34.4%
2018	41.73	1126^th	2037	44.7%
2019	28.42	1495^th	2086	28.3%
2021	36.61	1133^rd	1948	41.8%
2022	45.39	1050^th	2082	49.6%
2023	40.89	1157^th	2077	44.3%
2024	42.20	1110^th	2067	46.3%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	50.33	32^nd	78	59.0%
2019	37.39	53^rd	89	40.4%
2024	55.83	36^th	93	61.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.93	359^th	763	52.9%
2019	30.31	832^nd	1194	30.3%
2021	35.30	388^th	640	39.4%
2022	39.73	559^th	1113	49.8%
2023	30.39	781^st	1156	32.4%
2024	36.37	709^th	1195	40.7%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	45.73	907^th	1765	48.6%
2019	29.17	1399^th	1816	23.0%
2021	47.91	684^th	1514	54.8%
2022	44.02	925^th	1763	47.5%
2023	38.05	1093^rd	1808	39.5%
2024	44.49	940^th	1793	47.6%

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

Rank History for Female students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.40	1108^th	1964	43.6%
2019	32.16	1344^th	2019	33.4%
2021	28.72	1171^st	1680	30.3%
2022	44.46	982^nd	1970	50.2%
2023	36.43	1170^th	1957	40.2%
2024	46.08	957^th	1942	50.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	42.75	426^th	907	53.0%
2024	46.05	392^nd	886	55.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.28	1028^th	1972	47.9%
2019	26.49	1492^nd	2019	26.1%
2021	40.77	919^th	1707	46.2%
2022	45.54	971^st	1977	50.9%
2023	44.68	1011^th	1984	49.0%
2024	38.18	1122^nd	1959	42.7%

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

Rank History for African American students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	52.40	247^th	698	64.6%
2019	33.18	488^th	711	31.4%
2021	56.27	100^th	428	76.6%
2022	74.92	78^th	684	88.6%
2023	53.94	229^th	692	66.9%
2024	55.49	204^th	655	68.9%

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

Rank History for White students at Whiteside Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	47.80	760^th	1463	48.1%
2019	40.82	901^st	1462	38.4%
2021	48.52	628^th	1308	52.0%
2022	44.84	792^nd	1425	44.4%
2023	61.83	495^th	1419	65.1%
2024	59.53	522^nd	1392	62.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for White 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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a student
Thursday, August 7, 2014

I am a former Whiteside student. I graduated from the middle school in 2010, and after I left, Whiteside began to go downhill. Fights occurred more often, curse words became like regular language, and peers were rude. I have heard kindergartners swear like a sailor and would highly recommend not sending your student here. Choose a private school or Wolf Branch, but stay away from Whiteside. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Whiteside Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	529	93	16	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	642
1989	561	134	10	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	708
1990	610	126	10	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	749
1991	635	160	7	2	1	n/a	n/a	0	805
1992	643	174	6	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	826
1993	671	181	10	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	863
1994	677	203	12	7	1	n/a	n/a	0	900
1995	675	258	22	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	966
1996	675	258	22	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	966
1997	651	306	18	10	2	n/a	n/a	0	987
1998	594	334	18	12	2	n/a	n/a	0	960
1999	598	367	13	11	4	n/a	n/a	0	993
2000	573	406	15	14	2	n/a	n/a	0	1010
2001	552	459	19	17	1	n/a	n/a	0	1048
2002	410	363	22	12	3	n/a	n/a	0	810
2003	410	363	22	12	3	n/a	n/a	0	810
2004	376	316	33	7	0	n/a	n/a	0	732
2005	371	302	36	8	5	n/a	n/a	6	728
2006	390	296	28	9	4	n/a	n/a	57	784
2007	377	286	30	11	2	n/a	n/a	61	767
2008	372	309	31	14	10	n/a	n/a	68	804
2009	351	340	30	16	0	n/a	n/a	65	802
2010	319	344	21	10	0	n/a	n/a	82	776
2011	329	335	25	31	0	0	76	0	796
2012	328	357	23	29	0	0	64	0	801
2013	309	375	20	26	0	0	67	0	797
2014	317	353	16	23	0	0	70	0	779
2015	290	335	16	27	1	0	69	0	738
2016	261	363	16	23	1	1	73	0	738
2017	252	385	17	24	1	0	78	0	757
2018	233	362	14	27	1	0	80	0	717
2019	227	397	19	24	1	0	80	0	748
2020	219	390	16	21	4	0	78	0	728
2021	178	341	9	27	5	0	65	0	625
2022	209	360	8	23	5	0	59	0	664
2023	202	365	5	27	4	0	67	0	670
2024	188	372	5	37	3	0	63	0	668

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 Whiteside Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	642	33.5	19.1	n/a
1989	708	36.5	19.3	n/a
1990	749	38.5	19.4	n/a
1991	805	40.3	19.9	n/a
1992	826	43.5	18.9	n/a
1993	863	42.5	20.3	n/a
1994	900	45.0	20.0	n/a
1995	966	46.2	20.9	n/a
1996	966	46.2	20.9	n/a
1997	987	51.8	19.1	n/a
1998	960	53.3	18.0	n/a
1999	993	61.0	16.3	n/a
2000	1010	61.8	16.3	n/a
2001	1048	65.0	16.1	n/a
2002	810	45.5	17.8	34.8
2003	810	45.5	17.8	34.8
2004	732	44.2	16.6	35.9
2005	728	42.5	17.1	37.8
2006	784	46.0	17.0	38.8
2007	767	41.0	18.7	34.8
2008	804	36.0	22.3	37.2
2009	802	47.0	17.1	39.9
2010	776	46.0	16.8	47
2011	796	44.0	18.0	46.9
2012	801	44.0	18.2	47.7
2013	797	46.7	17.0	46
2014	779	n/a	n/a	48.8
2015	738	49.0	15.0	52.8
2016	738	47.0	15.7	54.1
2017	757	43.5	17.3	59.3
2018	717	44.5	16.0	58.6
2019	748	44.6	16.7	58.4
2020	728	41.2	17.6	50.3
2021	625	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	664	45.6	14.5	47.9
2023	670	44.7	14.9	58.7
2024	668	45.7	14.5	59.9

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 Whiteside Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	642	33.5	19.1	n/a
1989	708	36.5	19.3	n/a
1990	749	38.5	19.4	n/a
1991	805	40.3	19.9	n/a
1992	826	43.5	18.9	n/a
1993	863	42.5	20.3	n/a
1994	900	45.0	20.0	n/a
1995	966	46.2	20.9	n/a
1996	966	46.2	20.9	n/a
1997	987	51.8	19.1	n/a
1998	960	53.3	18.0	n/a
1999	993	61.0	16.3	n/a
2000	1010	61.8	16.3	n/a
2001	1048	65.0	16.1	n/a
2002	810	45.5	17.8	34.8
2003	810	45.5	17.8	34.8
2004	732	44.2	16.6	35.9
2005	728	42.5	17.1	37.8
2006	784	46.0	17.0	38.8
2007	767	41.0	18.7	34.8
2008	804	36.0	22.3	37.2
2009	802	47.0	17.1	39.9
2010	776	46.0	16.8	47
2011	796	44.0	18.0	46.9
2012	801	44.0	18.2	47.7
2013	797	46.7	17.0	46
2014	779	n/a	n/a	48.8
2015	738	49.0	15.0	52.8
2016	738	47.0	15.7	54.1
2017	757	43.5	17.3	59.3
2018	717	44.5	16.0	58.6
2019	748	44.6	16.7	58.4
2020	728	41.2	17.6	50.3
2021	625	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	664	45.6	14.5	47.9
2023	670	44.7	14.9	58.7
2024	668	45.7	14.5	59.9

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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