Chalmers STEAM Elementary

As a cozy elementary-level community in Chicago, Illinois, Chalmers STEAM Elementary teaches 205 students from grades pre-K through 8, part of Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Enrollment runs roughly 46% leaner than the state mean of about 381.

Within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which oversees 622 schools and 324,396 students, Chalmers STEAM Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Chalmers STEAM Elementary reports that 90% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. The remainder is composed of 6% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 22%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 8.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. An estimated 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Chalmers STEAM Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 14.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 18.1%.

Across the wider county, census data for Cook County shows median household earnings sit near $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Chalmers STEAM Elementary is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Nearest neighbor: North Lawndale Prep Chtr-Collins, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Chalmers STEAM Elementary comes 3rd of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 12.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Chalmers STEAM Elementary has shrank 45%, going from 371 students in 2018 to 205 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 95% to 90%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.6:1 in 2018 to 8.9:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.