Dr Donald Wharton Elem School

Dr Donald Wharton Elem School is a primary school of rural-scale scale in Summit, Illinois, run under Summit SD 104, instructing 114 students in grades K through 5. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Dr Donald Wharton Elem School sits 70% leaner than that benchmark.

Summit SD 104 comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 1,435 students; Dr Donald Wharton Elem School is among them.

Demographically, Dr Donald Wharton Elem School reports that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 78% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 18% Black, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 27% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, On paper, Dr Donald Wharton Elem School has 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 8.5:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 98% of students at Dr Donald Wharton Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Dr Donald Wharton Elem School sits in the top 10% of Illinois schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 14.8%; actual is 44.8%, +30.0 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Across the wider county, census data for Cook County shows median household earnings sit near $83,498, about 43% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Dr Donald Wharton Elem School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Nearest neighbor: Argo Community High School, around 0.3 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Dr Donald Wharton Elem School. On composite proficiency, Dr Donald Wharton Elem School comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 33.4%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Dr Donald Wharton Elem School's enrollment has declined 39% since 2018, when it stood at 186 (now 114). The Black share of enrollment grew from 2% to 18% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 13.8:1 in 2018 to 8.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.