Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is one of the substantial middle-grades schools in Oak Park, Illinois, part of Oak Park ESD 97, with 947 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. That puts it 105% bigger than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 462 students.

Oak Park ESD 97 runs 10 schools in total, collectively educating 5,560 students. Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School lists that 46% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder breaks down as 20% Black, 18% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, 3% Asian. Compared to Cook County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the income-and-resources front, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School logs 74 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.8:1. The state averages about 13.0:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 21% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 59.5%; this one delivers 61.2%.

In the area at large, 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 census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Percy Julian Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 64.4%.

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School operates from a residential location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count stayed largely flat: 966 students in 2018 compared to 947 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 53% to 46% across the same window.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.