John Gates Elem School

Located at 800 7th Ave, in Aurora, Illinois, John Gates Elem School is a moderately sized K-5 school that hosts 427 students (grades pre-K through 5), run under Aurora East USD 131.

Aurora East USD 131 runs 18 schools in total, collectively educating 12,187 students. John Gates Elem School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, John Gates Elem School reports that 96% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 33%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, John Gates Elem School has 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.6:1. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 60% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Kane County (around 48%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

With demographic context factored in, John Gates Elem School is in the bottom 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 36.6%; John Gates Elem School posts 16.0%, -20.7 points below that line.

Across the wider county, Kane County reports that the typical household earns roughly $103,163 per year, about 38% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Kane County runs 167 public schools (combined enrollment of about 87,252 students), of which John Gates Elem School is one.

East High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), John Gates Elem School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 21.2%.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Over the past 7-year window. John Gates Elem School's enrollment has edged down 23% since 2018, when it stood at 552 (now 427). The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 14.6:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.