Enrollment
371
Elementary
DISTRICT 392 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOLIET PSD 86·NCES 172058004928
Carl Sandburg Elementary
1100 Lilac Ln, Joliet, IL 60435 · (815) 725-0281 · Will County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL371 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 8% of Illinois public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
18.8:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
353 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 13 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 65 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 58 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 66 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 49 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (65) is 18% larger than its 5th grade class (55).
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
16.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.8pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +3.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 17 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 11 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 16.9% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
11.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
16.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 17% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Carl Sandburg Elementary
Carl Sandburg Elementary's state test result (11.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Sandburg Elementary this school | 371 | 95.1% | 11.9% |
| Laraway School Joliet | 433 | 90.8% | 32.1% |
| Lewis Elementary School Chicago | 427 | 97.4% | 12.0% |
| Hampton Elementary Fine & Perf Arts School Chicago | 463 | 95.2% | 19.3% |
| Forrestal Elementary School Great Lakes | 386 | 99.2% | 17.7% |
| OToole Elementary School Chicago | 309 | 93.9% | 15.7% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Carl Sandburg Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 11.9% | #1,841 of 1,925 | #93 of 94 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #1,905 of 2,077 ▼ 134 | #99 of 100 ▼ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 16.9% | #1,983 of 2,077 ▲ 45 | #98 of 100 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 371 | #1,144 of 2,419 | #76 of 116 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.8:1 | #1,955 of 2,035 | #101 of 107 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.5% | #521 of 2,042 | #42 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.1% | #146 of 2,132 | #6 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.6% | #1,165 of 1,461 | #55 of 71 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
371
-8 (-2%) vs 2020
+16% since 2010-11, when it was 319
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 371 | 19.8 | 18.8:1 | 95% (353) |
| 2023-24 | 367 | 18.2 | 20.2:1 | 95% (348) |
| 2022-23 | 372 | 20.8 | 17.9:1 | 94% (349) |
| 2020-21 | 379 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 393 | 20.6 | 19.1:1 | 100% (392) |
| 2015-16 | 382 | 21 | 18.2:1 | 100% (382) |
| 2010-11 | 319 | 18 | 17.7:1 | 71% (226) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Carl Sandburg Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (393 to 371); teachers down 4% (20.6 to 19.8).
About Carl Sandburg Elementary
Carl Sandburg Elementary is an elementary school in Joliet, Illinois, according to federal school records. Its enrollment is 371 students, spread over kindergarten through 5.
Enrollment across the 20 schools in Joliet PSD 86 totals 9,333 students.
The largest group at Carl Sandburg Elementary is Hispanic students, at 44%. The school is also 42% Black, 7% White, and 6% multiracial. That is higher than the 20% Hispanic share among all Will County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 61%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at Carl Sandburg Elementary is 18.8:1, based on 19.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois, this school's ratio is higher. Lunch program data show 95% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The average for public schools in Will County is 44%.
Carl Sandburg Elementary earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 8% of Illinois public elementary schools.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Carl Sandburg Elementary, the prediction is 16.6% and the result is 11.9%.
The school's county is Will County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $109,984, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. There are 209 public schools in the county, enrolling about 113,008, Carl Sandburg Elementary among them.
Among nearby public schools, Hufford Junior High School is closest at about 0.4 miles. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. By average proficiency, Carl Sandburg Elementary is 8th among 8 schools close by.
Carl Sandburg Elementary falls in the Suburb: Large locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2020-21, Carl Sandburg Elementary enrolled 379; in 2024-25, 371.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Carl Sandburg Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Joliet PSD 86
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Dirksen Junior High SchoolMiddle · 653 students
- Sator Sanchez Elementary SchoolElementary · 635 students
- Pershing Elementary SchoolElementary · 621 students
- Lynne Thigpen Elementary SchoolElementary · 620 students
Other schools in Joliet
- Joliet West High SchoolHigh · 3,451 students
- Joliet Central High SchoolHigh · 3,295 students
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Aux Sable Middle SchoolMiddle · 844 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Dirksen Junior High SchoolMiddle · 653 students
Other Carl Sandburg Elementary schools
3 other US public schools in 2 states are named Carl Sandburg Elementary. Carl Sandburg Elementary is the 4th largest of the 4.
- Carl Sandburg Elementary SchoolCharleston, IL · 555 students
- Carl Sandburg Elementary SchoolWheaton, IL · 402 students
- Carl Sandburg ElementaryKirkland, WA · 391 students
Nearby schools
- Hufford Junior High School0.4 mi · 1,072
- Taft Elementary School1.0 mi · 424
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary School1.0 mi · 235
- Joliet West High School1.1 mi · 3,451
- Pershing Elementary School1.5 mi · 621
- Troy Craughwell School1.5 mi · 526
Frequently asked questions
About Carl Sandburg ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Carl Sandburg Elementary?
Carl Sandburg Elementary enrolls approximately 371 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Carl Sandburg Elementary serve?
Carl Sandburg Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carl Sandburg Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Carl Sandburg Elementary is approximately 18.8:1 (20 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Carl Sandburg Elementary?
Carl Sandburg Elementary reports a student body of 7% White, 44% Hispanic, 42% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Carl Sandburg Elementary in?
Carl Sandburg Elementary is part of Joliet PSD 86.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.