Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center, a rural-scale middle-grades school in Ford Heights, Illinois, part of Ford Heights SD 169, works with 156 students, covering grades 5 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 66% leaner than the state mean of about 462.

Across the 2 schools in Ford Heights SD 169 (462 students total), Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center records that nearly all students (93%) are Black. Other groups include 7% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 22%.

Looking at school resources, Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center shows 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is above Cook County's rate of about 66%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 14.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 16.3%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Cook County indicate median household earnings sit near $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center is one.

Nearest neighbor: Medgar Evers Primary Acadmc Cntr, around 0.7 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 24.2%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center has declined 8%, going from 169 students in 2018 to 156 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 11.3:1 in 2018 to 13.1:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.