Facts About the Diocese
Background
The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is comprised of 28 counties that cover 15,139 square miles in central Illinois. There are 41 elementary schools and 7 high schools. Elementary enrollment is 8,702; high school enrollment is 2, 194.
Locations
39.58% of the schools are in urban settings; 6.25% are inner city; 16.67% are in suburban settings; 3 7 .50% are rural schools.
Faith
14.5% of the students are from other faith backgrounds.
Diversity
The percent of minorities enrolled in our schools is 7.36%.
Gift to the Nation
Based on the median public school per pupil cost of $11,594 for grade school students and $15,621 for high school students, the Catholic schools in our diocese provide more than $100,890,988 (grade school) and $34,272,474 (high school) a year in savings to the state of Illinois for a total of $135, 163,462.
Teaching Staff
Lay men and women represent 97.61 % of the teaching staff in the elementary schools. In the high schools, 95.75% of teaching staff are lay men and women. In addition to them, we are also grateful for the continued presence of the sisters, brothers, and priests in our schools.
Preschool/Kindergarten
95.12% of our schools offer a preschool program; 97.56% have a kindergarten.
Student-Teacher Ratio
12:1 in the elementary schools and 10:1 in the high schools.
Test Scores
Evidence for the superior performance of students from the Catholic Elementary schools comes from the Iowa Assessment which is administered in the fall to grades 3, 5, and 7. Nationally, 50% of students taking the Iowa Assessment test rank in the top half (50m- 99m percentile). The 2014 fall testing results of the elementary schools in our diocese show that for the Complete Composite Score, 61 % of the students in grade three scored in the top half; in grade five, 61 % of the students scored in the top half; in grade seven, 66% of the students scored in the top KaOI The Catholic high schools also offer a strong academic curriculum. Ninety-eight percent of the high school graduates go on to college. The average score for high school students on the ACT is 23 .8.
Extended Day
72.92% of our elementary schools offer an extended care program.
Waiting List
20.83% of our schools have a waiting list for admission.
Certification
The State of Illinois recognizes all schools in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois as does the diocesan Educational Review process. Many of the high schools in the diocese also have certification through AdvancED.
