Fort Dearborn Elem School

Fort Dearborn Elem School is one of the compact elementary campuss in Chicago, Illinois, run under Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, with 298 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 22% below typical.

Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 runs 622 schools in total, collectively educating 324,396 students. Fort Dearborn Elem School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Fort Dearborn Elem School lists that nearly all students (94%) are Black. Beyond that, the school shows 5% Hispanic. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 22% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Fort Dearborn Elem School has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Fort Dearborn Elem School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 76% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Fort Dearborn Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 27.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 16.0%.

In the surrounding community, 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 Fort Dearborn Elem School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Noble St Chtr-Hansberry Prep Slvr, around 0.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Fort Dearborn Elem School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 18.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Fort Dearborn Elem School has fell 16%, going from 354 students in 2018 to 298 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share fell from 100% to 94%. Class-load math has tightened: from 17.8:1 in 2018 to 10.1:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Fort Dearborn Elem School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.