DeSoto Grade School

DeSoto Elementary School District #86 provides a comprehensive education for Pre K-8 students, with an enrollment of approximately 200 students.  Its graduates continue on to Carbondale Community High School. In being so closely located to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, there are many advantages, opportunities and resources available to the school district. Within its rural and somewhat urban cultural environment, the faculty, administration, Board of Education, parents, students, and community all work together to make DeSoto Elementary a well-respected school.  With careful financial management and leadership, the school district is able to meet challenges among varied social and economic backgrounds to provide for a positive educational and physical environment. The school district is viewed within the community with pride in their mutual achievement of a good basic education for all its students; whether they are from an agricultural background, avocational-technical, skilled, semi-skilled or professional background.   It is clear that the goals of the small community are successfully intertwined with the school as a whole. Countless successful DeSoto Elementary graduates return to express their pride and gratitude for having been a product of the school system where they feel they received academic and personal success as a “DeSoto Ranger.” It’s a place where nearly “Everyone Knows Their Name.”