Farnsworth Elem School

Farnsworth Elem School is one of the medium-sized elementary-level communitys in Chicago, Illinois, part of Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, with 502 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 8. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Farnsworth Elem School sits 32% larger than that benchmark.

Within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which oversees 622 schools and 324,396 students, Farnsworth Elem School is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Farnsworth Elem School records that 42% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest reads as 36% White, 15% Asian, 4% Black, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 27% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. About 38% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is lower than Cook County's rate of about 66%.

After controlling for student poverty, Farnsworth Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 49.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 44.2%.

Zooming out to the county, Cook County reports that median household earnings sit near $83,498, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Farnsworth Elem School is one.

Hitch Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Farnsworth Elem School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Farnsworth Elem School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 54.5%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 17%: 604 students in 2018 compared to 502 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 today.

On the community side, 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.