Forest Elem School

Forest Elem School is one of the big elementary campuss in Des Plaines, Illinois, run under CCSD 62, with 658 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 73% above typical.

CCSD 62 runs 11 schools in total, collectively educating 4,520 students. Forest Elem School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Forest Elem School logs that 42% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school shows 31% Hispanic, 19% Asian, 4% Black, 3% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Cook County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 53 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Around 50% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Forest Elem School sits in the top 10% of Illinois schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 42.5%; actual is 59.6%, +17.1 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Cook County indicate 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. Across Cook County's 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), Forest Elem School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Algonquin Middle School, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Forest Elem School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 52.3%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 10%: 600 students in 2018 compared to 658 in 2025. The Asian share of enrollment climbed from 11% to 19% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 11.2:1 in 2018 to 12.4:1 today.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.