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SterlingIllinois1Photo: KWayne1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Schools in Sterling Township

Sterling Township’s public schools

Sterling Community Unit District 5 has no state test or graduation results we can use, so there is no Schools grade for Sterling Township. Each school below is shown with its own results.

—Not gradedK–12Where will my kid go?1/4schools above Illinois’s middle

Tests spring 2021, when 100% of students in Illinois’s tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s graduation rate (U.S. Department of Education). How TownRatings grades schools

Reading proficiency
18%
2020–21
Math proficiency
18%
2020–21
Graduate on time
90%
class of 2023
Spent per student
$15.5K
▼ 28% vs IL $21.6K
FY2024
Students per teacher
15.1
IL 13.6 · larger classes
Schools in town
9
3,253 students on the public path
In brief

Sterling Township’s schools, in brief

School by school

1 of Sterling Township’s 4 district schools with test results score above the middle of Illinois’s 3,406 public schools. Sterling High School places highest (better than 54%); Challand Middle School lowest (37%). See the path ↓

Which school depends on your street

Two elementary schools serve Sterling Township, so it’s worth checking the specific school. Then two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school: Sterling High School. See the path ↓

Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2020–21, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.

Where will my kid go?

Pick a grade. These are the public schools in Sterling Township, with each school’s own grade.

The path, start to finish
PK–22 elementary schoolsDepends on your addressNo scores
3–52 elementary schoolsDepends on your addressC+ to B−
6–8Challand Middle SchoolSterling Community Unit District 5C+
9–12Sterling High SchoolSterling Community Unit District 5B−

Which school depends on your address. To confirm it, ask the Sterling Community Unit District 5.

The district

Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.

Sterling Community Unit District 5Grades PK–12 · 6 schools · 3,253 students · 15.1 per teacher (IL 13.6)
$15,512IL $21,567 · FY2024
B−
Test scores · 2020–21

Well below the state in reading

Reading18%
State average 29.9% · 1647 students tested
Math18%
State average 25.8% · 1380 students tested

Sterling Township vs. its neighbors

Schools grades for the Illinois towns that share Sterling Township’s borders.

Schools next door
TownSchoolsMain districts
Sterling Township—Sterling Community Unit District 5
ColomaB−Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 PK–8 · East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 PK–8 · Rock Falls Township High School District 301 9–12
Sterling (city)B−Sterling Community Unit District 5
HopkinsB−Sterling Community Unit District 5
PalmyraB−Dixon Unit School District 170 PK–12 · Sterling Community Unit District 5 PK–12
Jordan—Sterling Community Unit District 5 PK–12 · Chadwick-Milledgeville Community Unit School District 399 PK–12
Rock FallsB−Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 PK–8 · East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 PK–8 · Rock Falls Township High School District 301 9–12

4 of the 6 neighbors share Sterling Community Unit District 5 with Sterling Township, so their letters differ mainly through other districts.

Every school in Sterling Township

9 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Illinois’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).

District schools in Sterling Townshipby address
Jefferson Elem School
Elementary · Grades PK–2 · Sterling
450 students15:1Rate it →
Franklin Elem School
Elementary · Grades PK–2 · Sterling
407 students14:1Rate it →
Washington Elem School
Elementary · Grades 3–5 · Sterling
B−
394 students12:1Rate it →
Lincoln Elem School
Elementary · Grades 3–5 · Sterling
C+
277 students13:1Rate it →
Challand Middle School
Middle · Grades 6–8 · Sterling
C+
726 students16:1Rate it →
Sterling High School
High · Grades 9–12 · Sterling
B−
999 students18:1Rate it →
Private schoolstuition; no state tests, so no grade
St. Mary Grade School
Elementary · Grades PK–8 · Sterling
Private · Catholic
203 students17:1Rate it →
Newman Central Catholic High School
High · Grades 9–12 · Sterling
Private · Catholic
182 students14:1Rate it →
Christ Lutheran School
Elementary · Grades PK–7 · Sterling
Private · Religious
26 students5:1Rate it →

Left off: 6 public programs with fewer than 25 students (Whiteside Area Career, ROE 47 Student Support ALOP, Bi-County-K-2 Life Skills-Dillon, Bi-County Sp Ed-Transition Life S, Bi-County-3-5 LIfe Skills-Merrill and Bi-County SpEd HS).

Questions about Sterling Township’s schools

Are Sterling Township’s schools good?

There’s no Schools grade for Sterling Township. Sterling Community Unit District 5 has no state test or graduation results we can use, so there is no Schools grade for Sterling Township. Each school below is shown with its own results. School by school, 1 of its 4 district schools with test results score above the middle of Illinois’s public schools on their 2020–21 results.

What school district is Sterling Township in?

Sterling Community Unit District 5.

Where do Sterling Township kids go to high school?

Sterling High School.

Are there private schools in Sterling Township?

Yes: St. Mary Grade School (grades PK–8, 203 students), Newman Central Catholic High School (grades 9–12, 182 students) and Christ Lutheran School (grades PK–7, 26 students).

Parents talk

What Sterling Township families are saying about school.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Looking for colleges? Colleges near Sterling Township → They have their own page.

School data: state test results (2020–21, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). Stars are from neighbors.