Is Whittier Elementary School a good school?

Whittier Elementary School ranks in the bottom 7.3% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Whittier Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 234 students attended Whittier Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Whittier Elementary School?

Students at Whittier Elementary School are 71% African American, 21% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 1% White.

What schools do graduates of Whittier Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Brooks Middle School High : Thornton Township High School

Whittier Elementary School

Summary:

Whittier Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Harvey, Illinois, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 234 students. The school is part of the Harvey School District 152, which is ranked 789 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Whittier Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% of Illinois elementary schools over the past several years, with a current ranking of 1917 out of 2067 schools and a 0-star rating.

Whittier Elementary School faces significant challenges, including extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, well below average academic performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics, and particularly concerning performance for certain student subgroups, such as African American students, Hispanic students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite relatively high per-student spending of $18,462 in 2022-2023, the school's performance has remained stagnant or declined over the past several years. When compared to nearby schools within the same district, such as Bryant Elementary, Maya Angelou Elementary, and Holmes Elementary, Whittier Elementary is the lowest-performing school, with significantly lower academic achievement and higher chronic absenteeism rates.

The high rates of poverty and homelessness among Whittier Elementary School's student population (80.34% free/reduced lunch recipients in 2022-2023) may be contributing to the school's challenges in academic performance and student engagement. Additionally, the low ranking of the overall Harvey School District 152 suggests systemic issues that may be impacting all schools in the district. The lack of improvement at Whittier Elementary School despite high per-student spending indicates the need for a comprehensive review of the school's strategies and interventions to address the root causes of these persistent issues.

Detail:

Public K-5

71 E 152nd St
Harvey, IL 60426-3154

(708) 331-1130

District: Harvey School District 152

SchoolDigger Rank:
1917^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $18,744

Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Brooks Middle School
High:	Thornton Township High School

Student/teacher ratio: 18.4

Number of students: 234

Racial breakdown:

African American:

70.9%

Hispanic:

20.9%

Asian:

4.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 80.3%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Whittier Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Whittier Elementary School ranks worse than 92.7% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 3^rd among 4 ranked elementary schools in the Harvey School District 152. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.49. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 Whittier Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Harvey School District 152. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Whittier Elementary School is $18,744, which is the 2^nd highest among 4 elementary schools in the Harvey School District 152.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Whittier Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Whittier Elementary School 1917^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Whittier Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Harvey School District 152:

SchoolDigger ranks Harvey School District 152 789^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Whittier Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	18.23	1689^th	2020	16.4%
2004	13.54	1783^rd	2030	12.2%
2005	17.41	1762^nd	2022	12.9%
2006	19.52	1792^nd	2086	14.1%
2007	17.87	1826^th	2095	12.8%
2008	17.15	1823^rd	2092	12.9%
2009	20.89	1785^th	2120	15.8%
2010	38.22	1510^th	2139	29.4%
2011	43.14	1420^th	2147	33.9%
2012	37.50	1564^th	2166	27.8%
2013	43.01	1332^nd	2167	38.5%
2014	53.20	1026^th	2093	51.0%
2015	47.04	971^st	2052	52.7%
2016	45.19	1056^th	2046	48.4%
2017	46.88	1022^nd	2044	50.0%
2018	34.86	1299^th	2037	36.2%
2019	32.54	1385^th	2086	33.6%
2021	17.61	1662^nd	1948	14.7%
2022	13.47	1934^th	2082	7.1%
2023	14.12	1904^th	2077	8.3%
2024	13.49	1917^th	2067	7.3%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	56.22	645^th	1765	63.5%
2019	53.67	719^th	1816	60.4%
2021	28.77	1144^th	1514	24.4%
2022	21.13	1544^th	1763	12.4%
2023	21.98	1575^th	1808	12.9%
2024	19.41	1616^th	1793	9.9%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	54.83	10^th	24	58.3%
2021	26.44	7^th	7	0.0%
2022	33.80	28^th	36	22.2%
2023	46.85	15^th	30	50.0%
2024	34.19	35^th	52	32.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.05	1399^th	1964	28.8%
2019	32.90	1325^th	2019	34.4%
2021	16.23	1479^th	1680	12.0%
2022	17.07	1696^th	1970	13.9%
2023	15.38	1779^th	1957	9.1%
2024	11.95	1865^th	1942	4.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.59	1096^th	1972	44.4%
2019	35.15	1274^th	2019	36.9%
2021	17.61	1472^nd	1707	13.8%
2022	11.12	1942^nd	1977	1.8%
2023	14.54	1816^th	1984	8.5%
2024	16.59	1700^th	1959	13.2%

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

Rank History for African American students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	61.83	167^th	698	76.1%
2019	69.28	119^th	711	83.3%
2021	41.60	201^st	428	53.0%
2022	30.57	502^nd	684	26.6%
2023	30.61	516^th	692	25.4%
2024	27.28	531^st	655	18.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	33.06	492^nd	742	33.7%
2023	25.94	787^th	970	18.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	12	514	n/a	16	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	542
1990	10	513	n/a	9	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	532
1991	6	536	0	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	550
1992	2	523	0	14	0	n/a	n/a	0	539
1993	4	522	0	16	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
1994	3	530	0	18	0	n/a	n/a	0	551
1995	2	487	5	14	0	n/a	n/a	0	508
1996	2	487	5	14	0	n/a	n/a	0	508
1997	6	479	5	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
1998	4	497	4	18	0	n/a	n/a	0	523
1999	4	480	4	16	0	n/a	n/a	0	504
2000	0	467	5	18	2	n/a	n/a	0	492
2001	0	413	8	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	434
2002	1	376	18	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	404
2003	1	376	18	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	404
2004	6	337	14	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	370
2005	5	289	17	19	0	n/a	n/a	0	330
2006	2	278	16	23	0	n/a	n/a	0	319
2007	1	239	19	18	0	n/a	n/a	3	280
2008	0	259	17	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	297
2009	0	239	15	25	0	n/a	n/a	8	287
2010	0	240	14	31	0	n/a	n/a	6	291
2011	0	206	16	31	0	0	6	0	259
2012	1	225	13	31	0	0	6	0	276
2013	0	232	14	35	0	0	5	0	286
2014	0	189	13	44	0	0	5	0	251
2015	0	184	16	40	0	0	7	0	247
2016	0	166	17	41	0	0	5	0	229
2017	0	140	11	32	0	0	6	0	189
2018	1	207	8	37	1	0	3	0	257
2019	0	218	8	43	1	0	4	0	274
2020	0	196	9	45	0	0	4	0	254
2021	0	166	8	47	0	0	9	0	230
2022	1	173	14	45	0	0	7	0	240
2023	3	166	11	49	0	0	5	0	234

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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	542	26.0	20.8	n/a
1990	532	27.1	19.6	n/a
1991	550	29.0	18.9	n/a
1992	539	25.0	21.5	n/a
1993	542	25.0	21.7	n/a
1994	551	26.0	21.2	n/a
1995	508	28.0	18.1	n/a
1996	508	28.0	18.1	n/a
1997	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1998	523	25.0	20.9	n/a
1999	504	26.0	19.4	n/a
2000	492	24.0	20.5	n/a
2001	434	21.0	20.7	n/a
2002	404	20.0	20.2	84.4
2003	404	20.0	20.2	84.4
2004	370	24.0	15.4	92.2
2005	330	22.0	15.0	99.1
2006	319	21.0	15.2	96.2
2007	280	22.0	12.7	96.8
2008	297	18.0	16.5	91.9
2009	287	21.0	13.7	91.4
2010	291	21.0	13.8	92.3
2011	259	18.0	14.3	92.3
2012	276	14.0	19.7	94.2
2013	286	26.6	10.7	97.6
2014	251	14.0	17.9	98.8
2015	247	15.0	16.4	98.8
2016	229	16.0	14.3	98.7
2017	189	13.0	14.5	98.4
2018	257	14.0	18.3	99.2
2019	274	13.0	21.0	99.6
2020	254	19.0	13.3	97.6
2021	230	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	240	15.7	15.2	95.8
2023	234	12.7	18.4	80.3

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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	542	26.0	20.8	n/a
1990	532	27.1	19.6	n/a
1991	550	29.0	18.9	n/a
1992	539	25.0	21.5	n/a
1993	542	25.0	21.7	n/a
1994	551	26.0	21.2	n/a
1995	508	28.0	18.1	n/a
1996	508	28.0	18.1	n/a
1997	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1998	523	25.0	20.9	n/a
1999	504	26.0	19.4	n/a
2000	492	24.0	20.5	n/a
2001	434	21.0	20.7	n/a
2002	404	20.0	20.2	84.4
2003	404	20.0	20.2	84.4
2004	370	24.0	15.4	92.2
2005	330	22.0	15.0	99.1
2006	319	21.0	15.2	96.2
2007	280	22.0	12.7	96.8
2008	297	18.0	16.5	91.9
2009	287	21.0	13.7	91.4
2010	291	21.0	13.8	92.3
2011	259	18.0	14.3	92.3
2012	276	14.0	19.7	94.2
2013	286	26.6	10.7	97.6
2014	251	14.0	17.9	98.8
2015	247	15.0	16.4	98.8
2016	229	16.0	14.3	98.7
2017	189	13.0	14.5	98.4
2018	257	14.0	18.3	99.2
2019	274	13.0	21.0	99.6
2020	254	19.0	13.3	97.6
2021	230	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	240	15.7	15.2	95.8
2023	234	12.7	18.4	80.3

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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