Enrollment
374
Elementary
DISTRICT 426 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERLOO CUSD 5·NCES 174107006144
Gardner Elementary School
1 Ed Gardner Pl, Waterloo, IL 62298 · (618) 939-3060 · Monroe County
GRADES 04–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL374 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
77 students
DISTRICT 21% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | 208 | 56% |
| Grade 5 | 166 | 44% |
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 13% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Waterloo CUSD 5. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
68.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +16.6pp since 2023
Math
61.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +14.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 61 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 17 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 15 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.9% | 61.2% |
| 2023-24 | 52.3% | 46.4% |
% 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
62.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 (62.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner Elementary School this school | 374 | 20.6% | 62.6% |
| Rogers Elementary School Waterloo | 417 | 20.9% | 74.9% |
| Brimfield Grade School Brimfield | 398 | 17.6% | 51.2% |
| St Joseph Elementary School Saint Joseph | 423 | 19.6% | 67.6% |
| Rochester Elementary EC-1 School Rochester | 402 | 17.9% | N/A |
| Crab Orchard Elementary School Marion | 323 | 20.1% | 49.2% |
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 Monroe County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.6% | #260 of 1,925 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.2% | #385 of 2,077 ▲ 1 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.9% | #381 of 2,077 ▲ 35 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 374 | #1,133 of 2,419 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #1,769 of 2,035 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.3% | #1,839 of 2,042 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.6% | #1,950 of 2,132 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.7% | #1,103 of 1,461 | N/A |
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
374
+19 (+5%) vs 2020
-7% since 2010-11, when it was 402
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 | 374 | 23 | 16.2:1 | 21% (77) |
| 2023-24 | 384 | 23.1 | 16.6:1 | 24% (91) |
| 2022-23 | 399 | 25.1 | 15.9:1 | 17% (69) |
| 2020-21 | 355 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 401 | 22.5 | 17.9:1 | 22% (89) |
| 2015-16 | 385 | 21 | 18.3:1 | 24% (93) |
| 2010-11 | 402 | 20 | 20.1:1 | 21% (84) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gardner Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (401 to 374); teachers up 3% (22.5 to 23).
About Gardner Elementary School
Gardner Elementary School, located in Waterloo, Illinois, is a medium-sized elementary school. The latest federal count shows 374 students in grades 4 through 5.
Waterloo CUSD 5 counts 2,767 students in its 5 schools, and Gardner Elementary School is one of them.
About 94% of the student body at Gardner Elementary School is White. Other students are 3% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. The county population is about 96% White, within a few points of the school. The school's diversity index is 12%, meaning two students picked at random have a 12% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The ratio of students to teachers is 16.2:1, with 23 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Gardner Elementary School is 21%. For comparison, public schools in Monroe County average 19%.
Gardner Elementary School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 62.6% is 2.9 points above the 59.6% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
In the county around the school, Monroe County, the median household income is $102,880, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Monroe County is home to 14 public schools and about 5,006 public school students.
The next-closest public school is Rogers Elementary School, about 0.1 miles away. Gardner Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with 4 others within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Gardner Elementary School at 3rd of 7.
Gardner Elementary School is coded as Town: Fringe in federal locale data.
Enrollment has grown by 19 students since 2020-21, to 374.
Community posts for Gardner Elementary School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Monroe County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
35,036
Census ACS
Median income
$102,880
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
5,006 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waterloo CUSD 5
- Waterloo High SchoolHigh · 876 students
- Waterloo Junior High SchoolMiddle · 613 students
- W J Zahnow Elementary SchoolElementary · 487 students
- Rogers Elementary SchoolElementary · 417 students
Other schools in Waterloo
- Waterloo High SchoolHigh · 876 students
- Waterloo Junior High SchoolMiddle · 613 students
- W J Zahnow Elementary SchoolElementary · 487 students
- Rogers Elementary SchoolElementary · 417 students
Other Gardner Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 5 states are named Gardner Elementary. Gardner Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 6.
- Gardner Elementary SchoolGardner, IL · 146 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
- Rogers Elementary School0.1 mi · 417
- Waterloo Junior High School0.3 mi · 613
- W J Zahnow Elementary School0.5 mi · 487
- Waterloo High School1.2 mi · 876
- Valmeyer High School7.6 mi · 106
- Valmeyer Elementary School7.6 mi · 152
Frequently asked questions
About Gardner Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Gardner Elementary School?
Gardner Elementary School enrolls approximately 374 students in grades 04-05.
What grades does Gardner Elementary School serve?
Gardner Elementary School serves grades 04-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gardner Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Gardner Elementary School is approximately 16.2:1 (23 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Gardner Elementary School?
Student demographics at Gardner Elementary School are roughly 94% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Gardner Elementary School public or private?
Gardner Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Waterloo CUSD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.