Enrollment
319
Elementary
DISTRICT 375 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARVARD CUSD 50·NCES 171842002127
Jefferson Elementary School
1200 N Jefferson St, Harvard, IL 60033 · (815) 943-6464 · McHenry County
GRADES 04–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL319 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.4:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
177 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 143 | 45% |
| Grade 5 | 176 | 55% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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 Harvard CUSD 50. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
24.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +8.7pp since 2023
Math
12.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +5.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 24 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 13 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 24.0% | 12.7% |
| 2023-24 | 15.3% | 7.1% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
18.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-20.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 39% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Jefferson Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School's state test result (18.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Elementary School this school | 319 | 55.5% | 18.6% |
| Nicholson Elementary School Montgomery | 337 | 58.8% | 29.1% |
| Schneider Elementary School North Aurora | 361 | 51.5% | 31.5% |
| Indian Knoll Elementary School West Chicago | 375 | 60.0% | 29.7% |
| Richard Byrd Elementary School Burbank | 266 | 61.3% | 36.5% |
| West Oak Intermediate School Mundelein | 268 | 59.7% | 31.6% |
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 Jefferson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McHenry County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.6% | #1,644 of 1,925 | #43 of 44 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.7% | #1,807 of 2,077 ▼ 47 | #43 of 44 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 24.0% | #1,842 of 2,077 ▼ 95 | #43 of 44 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 319 | #1,434 of 2,419 | #41 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.4:1 | #69 of 2,035 | #1 of 49 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.6% | #1,164 of 2,042 | #42 of 49 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 55.5% | #1,148 of 2,132 | #7 of 49 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.4% | #302 of 1,461 | #3 of 31 |
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
319
-44 (-12%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 365
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 | 319 | 34 | 9.4:1 | 55% (177) |
| 2023-24 | 359 | 34.5 | 10.4:1 | 48% (172) |
| 2022-23 | 377 | 38.7 | 9.8:1 | 44% (164) |
| 2020-21 | 363 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 422 | 33 | 12.8:1 | 59% (250) |
| 2015-16 | 379 | 26 | 14.6:1 | 73% (275) |
| 2010-11 | 336 | 20 | 16.8:1 | 72% (243) |
| 2000-01 | 507 | 32 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 365 | 18 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jefferson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (422 to 319); teachers up 3% (33 to 34).
About Jefferson Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School is a small elementary school serving families in Harvard, Illinois. The school's enrollment of 319 students covers grades 4 through 5.
The district, Harvard CUSD 50, operates 5 schools serving 2,532 students.
By race and ethnicity, Jefferson Elementary School is 74% Hispanic. It is also 24% White. For comparison, the population of McHenry County is roughly 16% Hispanic. Jefferson Elementary School has a diversity index of 40%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school employs the equivalent of 34 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 9.4:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1, higher than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Jefferson Elementary School is 55%. On average, public schools in McHenry County report 35%.
Jefferson Elementary School is in the bottom 10% of Illinois schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 39.5%. The school's actual rate is 18.6%, 20.8 points lower.
County data help place the school in context: in McHenry County, median household income is about $104,802, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 4%. Jefferson Elementary School is among the 89 public schools in McHenry County.
Nearest public school: Harvard High School, about 0.1 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: 4. Jefferson Elementary School is 7th of 8 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
NCES lists the school's locale as Town: Distant. That means it sits in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 12%, from 363 to 319.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
McHenry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
312,591
Census ACS
Median income
$104,802
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
89
50,123 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Harvard CUSD 50
- Harvard High SchoolHigh · 815 students
- Crosby Elementary SchoolElementary · 655 students
- Harvard Jr High SchoolMiddle · 593 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 150 students
Other schools in Harvard
- Harvard High SchoolHigh · 815 students
- Crosby Elementary SchoolElementary · 655 students
- Harvard Jr High SchoolMiddle · 593 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 150 students
Other Jefferson Elementary schools
143 other US public schools in 31 states are named Jefferson Elementary. Jefferson Elementary School is the 97th largest of the 144.
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolCharleston, IL · 698 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolBerwyn, IL · 453 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolSterling, IL · 450 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolMarion, IL · 376 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolMorton, IL · 354 students
Nearby schools
- Harvard High School0.1 mi · 815
- Harvard Jr High School0.3 mi · 593
- Washington Elementary School0.9 mi · 150
- Crosby Elementary School1.8 mi · 655
- Big Foot High6.8 mi · 437
- Walworth Elementary7.0 mi · 409
Frequently asked questions
About Jefferson Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Jefferson Elementary School?
Jefferson Elementary School enrolls approximately 319 students in grades 04-05.
What age range does Jefferson Elementary School serve?
Jefferson Elementary School serves students from grade 04 through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary School?
Approximately 9.4:1 students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Jefferson Elementary School?
At Jefferson Elementary School, the student body is approximately 24% White, 74% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Jefferson Elementary School public or private?
Jefferson Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Harvard CUSD 50.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.