Briargate Elem School

Briargate Elem School is one of the moderately sized elementary-level communitys in Cary, Illinois, overseen by Cary CCSD 26, with 400 students on its rolls from grades 1 through 5.

Within Cary CCSD 26, which oversees 5 schools and 2,372 students, Briargate Elem School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Briargate Elem School lists that the largest single group is White, at 75% of enrollment. Other groups include 18% Hispanic, 5% multiracial.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.9:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. An estimated 23% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is below McHenry County's rate of about 35%.

With demographic context factored in, Briargate Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 58.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 55.3%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for McHenry County put median household income runs about $104,802, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. Across McHenry County's 89 public schools (combined enrollment of about 50,123 students), Briargate Elem School is one campus in the mix.

Oak Knoll Early Childhood Center is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Briargate Elem School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 50.8%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 5%: 421 students in 2018 compared to 400 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 12% to 18% across the same window.

On the community side, members of the Briargate Elem School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.