Enrollment
146
Elementary
STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GARDNER CCSD 72C·NCES 171623001941
Gardner Elementary School
598 N Elm St, Gardner, IL 60424 · (815) 237-2313 · Grundy County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL146 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.1:1
16 FTE teachers
STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
51%
75 students
STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 16 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 13 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 16 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 16 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 11 | 8% |
| Grade 4 | 13 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 16 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 12 | 8% |
| Grade 7 | 16 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 17 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (13) is 24% smaller than its 8th grade class (17).
Student demographics
24%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
58.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +15.6pp since 2023
Math
41.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +10.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 16 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 58.6% | 41.4% |
| 2023-24 | 43.0% | 31.4% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
50.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Gardner Elementary School
Gardner Elementary School's state test result (50.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner Elementary School this school | 146 | 51.4% | 50.7% |
| Chillicothe Elementary Center Chillicothe | 156 | 54.5% | 43.1% |
| Potomac Elementary School Potomac | 137 | 51.1% | 36.6% |
| Bradford Grade School Bradford | 123 | 52.0% | 56.5% |
| Bureau Valley North Walnut | 183 | 49.7% | 49.2% |
| Galatia Elementary School Galatia | 152 | 49.3% | 34.1% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Gardner Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Grundy County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.7% | #575 of 1,925 | #5 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #924 of 2,077 ▼ 160 | #7 of 9 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.6% | #723 of 2,077 ▼ 20 | #5 of 9 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 146 | #2,233 of 2,419 | #10 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 51.4% | #1,266 of 2,132 | #2 of 11 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
146
-17 (-10%) vs 2020
-37% since 1990-91, when it was 232
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 146 | 16 | 9.1:1 | 51% (75) |
| 2023-24 | 145 | 13 | 11.2:1 | 46% (66) |
| 2022-23 | 148 | 14.5 | 10.2:1 | 34% (51) |
| 2020-21 | 163 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 195 | 15 | 13.0:1 | 34% (66) |
| 2015-16 | 206 | 13 | 15.8:1 | 39% (80) |
| 2010-11 | 215 | 14 | 15.4:1 | 32% (68) |
| 2000-01 | 234 | 13 | 18.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 232 | 10 | 23.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gardner Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (195 to 146); teachers up 7% (15 to 16).
About Gardner Elementary School
Gardner Elementary School is a public elementary school run by Gardner CCSD 72C in Gardner, Illinois. There are 146 students enrolled, covering pre-K through 8. Across elementary schools in Illinois, the average enrollment is about 381.
Gardner Elementary School is listed under Gardner CCSD 72C in federal data.
White students account for 86% of the school's enrollment. Other reported shares: 11% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. Among Grundy County residents, the White share is about 86%. A diversity index of 24% means there is a 24% chance two randomly chosen students at Gardner Elementary School are from different groups.
There are 16 full-time-equivalent teachers at Gardner Elementary School, giving a ratio of 9.1:1. Elementary schools in Illinois have an average ratio of 13.9:1. By family income, 51% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 35% average among public schools in Grundy County.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Gardner Elementary School is 8.8 points above the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 50.7% actual, 41.9% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Illinois.
For Grundy County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $92,235 a year, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Counting Gardner Elementary School, Grundy County has 28 public schools.
Gardner Elementary School's nearest public school is Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School (about 0.6 miles). Inside a five-mile radius, there are 3 other public schools. On average proficiency, Gardner Elementary School is 4th of 8 nearby schools with test data.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Fringe, meaning it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
The school shrank from 163 students in 2020-21 to 146 in 2024-25.
Gardner Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Grundy County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
53,219
Census ACS
Median income
$92,235
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
12,070 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other Gardner Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 5 states are named Gardner Elementary. Gardner Elementary School is the 6th largest of the 6.
- Gardner Elementary SchoolWaterloo, IL · 374 students
- Gardner Elementary SchoolGardner, MA · 1,087 students
- Gardner ElementarySan Jose, CA · 385 students
- Gardner ElemGardner, KS · 304 students
- Gardner Elementary SchoolDETROIT, MI · 239 students
Nearby schools
- Gardner-South Wilmington Twp High School0.6 mi · 154
- South Wilmington Grade School2.0 mi · 73
- Braceville Elementary School3.1 mi · 130
- Coal City Early Childhood Center5.7 mi · 437
- Coal City Middle School5.9 mi · 454
- Coal City High School6.4 mi · 642
Frequently asked questions
About Gardner Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Gardner Elementary School?
Gardner Elementary School enrolls approximately 146 students in grades PK-08.
Is Gardner Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gardner Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many teachers does Gardner Elementary School have?
Gardner Elementary School employs 16 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Gardner Elementary School?
Student demographics at Gardner Elementary School are roughly 86% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Gardner Elementary School in?
Gardner Elementary School is part of Gardner CCSD 72C.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.