Kenneth Murphy School

Kenneth Murphy School is a K-5 school of mid-sized scale in Beach Park, Illinois, part of Beach Park CCSD 3, hosting 394 students in grades K through 5.

Kenneth Murphy School is one of 5 schools operated by Beach Park CCSD 3, a district that caters to 1,996 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Kenneth Murphy School shows that 58% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. The remainder looks like 23% Black, 12% White, 4% multiracial, 3% Asian. By comparison, Lake County as a whole is about 25% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Kenneth Murphy School logs 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.6:1. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 54% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Kenneth Murphy School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 40.6%; this one comes in at 19.6%, -21.0 points off the demographic line.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Lake County put the typical household earns roughly $110,416 per year, 48% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Lake County runs 214 public schools (combined enrollment of about 118,032 students), of which Kenneth Murphy School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Oak Crest School, around 0.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Kenneth Murphy School. On composite proficiency, Kenneth Murphy School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 18.0%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Kenneth Murphy School has held roughly steady, going from 401 students in 2018 to 394 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose from 43% to 58%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 14.6:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.