Grand Prairie Elem School

Grand Prairie Elem School is a moderately sized elementary-level community in Joliet, Illinois, part of Plainfield SD 202. The school educates 494 students in grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 30% above typical.

Grand Prairie Elem School is one of 30 schools operated by Plainfield SD 202, a district that hosts 24,556 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Grand Prairie Elem School lists that 43% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 38% White, 12% Black, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Will County as a whole is about 20% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 42 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 47% of students at Grand Prairie Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Grand Prairie Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 44.6%, the actual is 33.3%, a residual of -11.3 points.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Will County) reports that median household earnings sit near $109,984, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Will County runs 209 public schools (combined enrollment of about 113,008 students), of which Grand Prairie Elem School is one.

The closest other public school is Crystal Lawns Elem School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Grand Prairie Elem School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Grand Prairie Elem School at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 39.7%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Grand Prairie Elem School has ticked down 16%, going from 587 students in 2018 to 494 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 53% to 38%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 today.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.