Is Gary Elementary School a good school?

Gary Elementary School ranks 1175 th of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Gary Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 443 students attended Gary Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Gary Elementary School?

Students at Gary Elementary School are 81% Hispanic, 14% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Gary Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Gary Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Leman Middle School High : West Chicago Community High School

Gary Elementary School

Summary:

Gary Elementary School is a public elementary school located in West Chicago, Illinois, serving 443 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the West Chicago Education Service District 33, which is ranked 686 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Gary Elementary School faces several challenges, including consistently lower academic performance compared to the district and state averages. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are around 30% and 18%, respectively, while the district and state averages are significantly higher. The school's performance also varies across different student subgroups, with White students performing relatively well but Hispanic students, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds performing below average. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 4.2% to 20.2% in recent years.

Interestingly, when compared to nearby schools within the same district, Gary Elementary School performs at a similar or slightly lower level. However, when compared to schools in the higher-performing Cusd 200 district, such as Pleasant Hill Elementary School, the performance gap becomes more pronounced. This suggests that factors beyond just funding, which is higher at Gary Elementary School than the district average, may be contributing to the school's underperformance, such as effective instructional practices, teacher quality, and targeted interventions.

Detail:

Public K-5

130 E Forest Ave
West Chicago, IL 60185-3524

(630) 293-6010

District: West Chicago Education Service District 33

SchoolDigger Rank:
1175^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $22,501

Students who attend Gary Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Leman Middle School
High:	West Chicago Community High School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.3

Number of students: 443

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

81.3%

White:

14.2%

Two or more races:

1.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 49.9%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Gary Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Gary Elementary School ranks worse than 56.8% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks first among 6 ranked elementary schools in the West Chicago Education Service District 33! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 39.06. (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 Gary Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the West Chicago Education Service District 33. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Gary Elementary School is $22,501, which is the lowest among 6 elementary schools in the West Chicago Education Service District 33!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gary Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Gary Elementary School 1175^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Gary Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

West Chicago Education Service District 33:

SchoolDigger ranks West Chicago Education Service District 33 686^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Gary Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	44.45	1315^th	2020	34.9%
2004	68.64	734^th	2030	63.8%
2005	68.54	729^th	2022	63.9%
2006	55.00	1200^th	2086	42.5%
2007	53.36	1242^nd	2095	40.7%
2008	14.59	1855^th	2092	11.3%
2009	18.04	1828^th	2120	13.8%
2010	17.73	1853^rd	2139	13.4%
2011	21.86	1801^st	2147	16.1%
2012	24.22	1777^th	2166	18.0%
2013	16.42	1889^th	2167	12.8%
2014	14.91	1858^th	2093	11.2%
2015	17.48	1773^rd	2052	13.6%
2016	18.55	1730^th	2046	15.4%
2017	25.28	1540^th	2044	24.7%
2018	28.85	1455^th	2037	28.6%
2019	31.57	1412^th	2086	32.3%
2021	30.61	1275^th	1948	34.5%
2022	24.42	1526^th	2082	26.7%
2023	41.18	1150^th	2077	44.6%
2024	39.06	1175^th	2067	43.2%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.42	687^th	718	4.3%
2019	45.35	368^th	743	50.5%
2021	41.45	269^th	537	49.9%
2022	38.85	455^th	768	40.8%
2023	38.78	465^th	788	41.0%
2024	41.61	452^nd	826	45.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	31.95	786^th	1194	34.2%
2022	36.76	612^th	1113	45.0%
2023	48.18	483^rd	1156	58.2%
2024	29.14	855^th	1195	28.5%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	33.54	1223^rd	1765	30.7%
2019	43.07	1010^th	1816	44.4%
2021	39.67	862^nd	1514	43.1%
2022	41.14	999^th	1763	43.3%
2023	43.43	968^th	1808	46.5%
2024	44.66	937^th	1793	47.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.92	1565^th	1964	20.3%
2019	27.80	1475^th	2019	26.9%
2021	32.49	1096^th	1680	34.8%
2022	29.48	1339^th	1970	32.0%
2023	33.23	1239^th	1957	36.7%
2024	39.66	1086^th	1942	44.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	25.05	740^th	907	18.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	37.23	1178^th	1972	40.3%
2019	37.56	1202^nd	2019	40.5%
2021	26.81	1216^th	1707	28.8%
2022	22.21	1519^th	1977	23.2%
2023	48.28	924^th	1984	53.4%
2024	37.12	1142^nd	1959	41.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.18	754^th	938	19.6%
2019	32.14	683^rd	955	28.5%
2021	32.67	499^th	742	32.7%
2022	29.09	705^th	954	26.1%
2023	38.47	578^th	970	40.4%
2024	40.79	536^th	959	44.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Gary Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	65.96	449^th	1463	69.3%
2019	50.19	734^th	1462	49.8%
2023	97.65	8^th	1419	99.4%

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: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Friday, August 12, 2016

Mrs. Drake is a caring and committed principal and the teachers are super hardworking and attentive. The Dual Language program is amazingly effective. My son has thrived here and excels academically in two languages. It's a unique school with wonderful, involved families. Proud to be a part of the Gary School community. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, June 3, 2016

The teachers are extremely invested in each child. Students are learning dual language. Parents are welcome and invited to be a part of their child's day. We are so happy with Gary! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Gary Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	348	14	4	183	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	549
1989	364	18	6	168	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	556
1990	341	17	2	177	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	537
1991	350	15	2	218	0	n/a	n/a	0	585
1992	313	14	1	246	0	n/a	n/a	0	574
1993	290	13	4	327	4	n/a	n/a	0	638
1994	308	14	4	273	0	n/a	n/a	0	599
1995	294	10	10	270	0	n/a	n/a	0	584
1996	294	10	10	270	0	n/a	n/a	0	584
1997	240	5	5	382	0	n/a	n/a	0	632
1998	233	4	6	383	0	n/a	n/a	0	626
1999	215	3	6	386	0	n/a	n/a	0	610
2000	141	5	4	314	0	n/a	n/a	0	464
2001	109	7	4	330	0	n/a	n/a	0	450
2002	76	3	2	426	0	n/a	n/a	0	507
2003	76	3	2	426	0	n/a	n/a	0	507
2004	67	4	2	433	0	n/a	n/a	0	506
2005	49	16	2	455	1	n/a	n/a	5	528
2006	43	7	2	446	0	n/a	n/a	6	504
2007	44	7	1	413	0	n/a	n/a	13	478
2008	47	3	0	465	0	n/a	n/a	14	529
2009	50	3	2	474	0	n/a	n/a	14	543
2010	47	2	1	498	0	n/a	n/a	15	563
2011	53	4	1	542	1	0	0	0	601
2012	59	3	1	581	1	0	2	0	647
2013	54	2	1	509	0	0	2	0	568
2014	76	2	1	505	0	0	5	0	589
2015	83	3	0	478	0	0	3	0	567
2016	77	4	0	478	0	0	4	0	563
2017	78	3	2	477	0	0	6	0	566
2018	84	5	2	468	0	0	5	0	564
2019	80	7	4	452	0	0	8	0	551
2020	83	8	6	426	0	0	8	0	531
2021	67	7	7	426	1	0	8	0	516
2022	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2023	63	6	5	360	1	0	8	0	443

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 Gary Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	549	27.5	19.9	n/a
1989	556	27.8	20.0	n/a
1990	537	26.6	20.1	n/a
1991	585	28.1	20.8	n/a
1992	574	25.5	22.5	n/a
1993	638	27.6	23.1	n/a
1994	599	29.8	20.1	n/a
1995	584	27.0	21.6	n/a
1996	584	27.0	21.6	n/a
1997	632	24.0	26.3	n/a
1998	626	28.6	21.9	n/a
1999	610	32.5	18.8	n/a
2000	464	29.5	15.7	n/a
2001	450	29.2	15.4	n/a
2002	507	32.7	15.5	42.8
2003	507	32.7	15.5	42.8
2004	506	33.0	15.3	49.8
2005	528	34.5	15.3	52.8
2006	504	31.0	16.3	58.6
2007	478	27.0	17.7	56.3
2008	529	27.0	19.6	61.9
2009	543	32.9	16.5	63.9
2010	563	33.6	16.7	69.2
2011	601	30.0	20.0	75.7
2012	647	31.0	20.8	82.5
2013	568	n/a	n/a	57.9
2014	589	33.0	17.8	64.3
2015	567	34.0	16.6	69.3
2016	563	31.0	18.1	39.1
2017	566	33.0	17.1	52.3
2018	564	35.5	15.8	53
2019	551	36.0	15.3	51.2
2020	531	35.0	15.1	51.2
2021	516	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	0	39.1	0.0	n/a
2023	443	36.0	12.3	49.9

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 Gary Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	549	27.5	19.9	n/a
1989	556	27.8	20.0	n/a
1990	537	26.6	20.1	n/a
1991	585	28.1	20.8	n/a
1992	574	25.5	22.5	n/a
1993	638	27.6	23.1	n/a
1994	599	29.8	20.1	n/a
1995	584	27.0	21.6	n/a
1996	584	27.0	21.6	n/a
1997	632	24.0	26.3	n/a
1998	626	28.6	21.9	n/a
1999	610	32.5	18.8	n/a
2000	464	29.5	15.7	n/a
2001	450	29.2	15.4	n/a
2002	507	32.7	15.5	42.8
2003	507	32.7	15.5	42.8
2004	506	33.0	15.3	49.8
2005	528	34.5	15.3	52.8
2006	504	31.0	16.3	58.6
2007	478	27.0	17.7	56.3
2008	529	27.0	19.6	61.9
2009	543	32.9	16.5	63.9
2010	563	33.6	16.7	69.2
2011	601	30.0	20.0	75.7
2012	647	31.0	20.8	82.5
2013	568	n/a	n/a	57.9
2014	589	33.0	17.8	64.3
2015	567	34.0	16.6	69.3
2016	563	31.0	18.1	39.1
2017	566	33.0	17.1	52.3
2018	564	35.5	15.8	53
2019	551	36.0	15.3	51.2
2020	531	35.0	15.1	51.2
2021	516	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	0	39.1	0.0	n/a
2023	443	36.0	12.3	49.9

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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