Enrollment
322
Elementary
DISTRICT 363 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CCSD 62·NCES 171212001461
Central Elementary School
1526 E Thacker St, Des Plaines, IL 60016 · (847) 824-1575 · Cook County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL322 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.9:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
122 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 44 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 73 | 23% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (44) is 30% smaller than its 5th grade class (63).
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
66.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +23.6pp since 2023
Math
62.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +29.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 63 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 24 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 29 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.0% | 62.7% |
| 2023-24 | 42.4% | 33.5% |
% 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
57.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 Central Elementary School
Central Elementary School's state test result (57.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School this school | 322 | 37.9% | 57.0% |
| Dwight D Eisenhower Elementary School Prospect Heights | 326 | 39.9% | N/A |
| Ridge Family Center for Learning Elk Grove Village | 261 | 39.5% | 69.8% |
| Betsy Ross Elementary School Prospect Heights | 338 | 38.8% | 58.2% |
| Carl Sandburg Elementary School Wheaton | 402 | 37.3% | 59.7% |
| Anne Sullivan Elementary School Prospect Heights | 329 | 36.8% | 59.7% |
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 Central Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #394 of 1,925 | #120 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.7% | #357 of 2,077 ▲ 335 | #119 of 829 ▲ 97 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #468 of 2,077 ▲ 250 | #163 of 829 ▲ 73 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 322 | #1,413 of 2,419 | #584 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.5:1 | #396 of 2,035 | #215 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.9% | #361 of 2,042 | #146 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.9% | #1,600 of 2,132 | #669 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.2% | #301 of 615 | #89 of 186 |
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
322
+54 (+20%) vs 2020
-1% since 1990-91, when it was 326
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 | 322 | 28 | 11.5:1 | 38% (122) |
| 2023-24 | 326 | 26.5 | 12.3:1 | 31% (101) |
| 2022-23 | 308 | 26.9 | 11.4:1 | 33% (103) |
| 2020-21 | 268 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 295 | 22.1 | 13.3:1 | 37% (110) |
| 2015-16 | 314 | 22 | 14.3:1 | 35% (111) |
| 2010-11 | 294 | 20 | 14.7:1 | 24% (71) |
| 2000-01 | 331 | 18 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 326 | 21 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (295 to 322); teachers up 27% (22.1 to 28).
About Central Elementary School
This page covers Central Elementary School, a low-enrollment elementary school in Des Plaines, Illinois. The school covers kindergarten through 5 and reported 322 students in 2024-25.
The district, CCSD 62, operates 11 schools serving 4,520 students.
Of every 100 students at Central Elementary School, about 52 are White. The rest of enrollment is 23% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 3% Black. Among all residents of Cook County, the White share is about 44%. The diversity index for Central Elementary School is 65%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school had 28 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 11.5:1. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1. The school reported 38% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. The gap from the 66% average for public schools in Cook County is 28 points.
The model predicts 49.6% for a school in Illinois with Central Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Central Elementary School posts 57.0%.
Census data for Cook County show median household income comes to about $83,498, about 43% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 10%. The county has 1,406 public schools and about 697,934 students.
Central Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is North Elementary School, about 0.5 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Central Elementary School's average proficiency of 57.0% compares with 48.6% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES assigns Central Elementary School the locale City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school's enrollment rose 20% from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Central Elementary School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in CCSD 62
- Forest Elementary SchoolElementary · 658 students
- Chippewa Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 599 students
- Algonquin Middle SchoolMiddle · 597 students
- Iroquois Community SchoolElementary · 411 students
- Plainfield Elementary SchoolElementary · 285 students
Other schools in Des Plaines
- Maine West High SchoolHigh · 1,857 students
- Forest Elementary SchoolElementary · 658 students
- Chippewa Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- Friendship Jr High SchoolMiddle · 633 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 599 students
- Algonquin Middle SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary School is the 104th largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolPlainfield, IL · 544 students
- Central Elementary SchoolWilmette, IL · 485 students
- Central Elementary SchoolRiverside, IL · 371 students
- Central Elementary SchoolPontiac, IL · 361 students
- Central Elementary SchoolKewanee, IL · 353 students
Nearby schools
- North Elementary School0.5 mi · 599
- Algonquin Middle School1.1 mi · 597
- Forest Elementary School1.2 mi · 658
- South Elementary School1.2 mi · 253
- Maine East High School1.5 mi · 1,921
- Plainfield Elementary School1.5 mi · 285
Frequently asked questions
About Central Elementary SchoolHow large is Central Elementary School?
Central Elementary School enrolls approximately 322 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Central Elementary School serve?
Central Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Central Elementary School is approximately 11.5:1 (28 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Central Elementary School?
Student demographics at Central Elementary School are roughly 52% White, 23% Hispanic, 3% Black, 15% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Central Elementary School public or private?
Central Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by CCSD 62.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.