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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Little Fort Elem School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
421
Elementary
DISTRICT 408 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUKEGAN CUSD 60·NCES 174125004134
Little Fort Elem School
1775 Blanchard Rd, Waukegan, IL 60087 · (224) 303-3700 · Lake County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL421 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
296 students
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 56%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
40.1%
IL avg 51.0% . +14.4pp since 2023
Math
39.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +11.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
37.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
421
-63 (-13%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 15.6:1
% White
2%
was 5%
% Hispanic
76%
was 73%
% Black
15%
was 16%
% Asian
4%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Little Fort Elem School
Located at 1775 Blanchard Rd, in Waukegan, Illinois, Little Fort Elem School is a mid-sized elementary-level community that caters to 421 students (grades K through 5), run under Waukegan CUSD 60.
Little Fort Elem School is one of 22 schools operated by Waukegan CUSD 60, a district that works with 13,640 students overall.
On demographics, Little Fort Elem School records that Hispanic students make up the majority at 76%; the rest breaks down as 15% Black, 4% Asian. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 25%.
Looking at school resources, On paper, Little Fort Elem School has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.6:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 70% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Lake County (around 54%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.
After controlling for student poverty, Little Fort Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 30.9%, the actual is 37.0%, a residual of +6.1 points.
In the area at large, Lake County reports that median household earnings sit near $110,416, roughly 48% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Little Fort Elem School is one of 214 public schools in Lake County (combined enrollment of about 118,032 students).
Jack Benny Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Little Fort Elem School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 27.6%.
Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.
Trend over the last 7 years. Little Fort Elem School's enrollment has ticked down 13% since 2018, when it stood at 484 (now 421). The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 15.6:1 in 2018 to 13.6:1 today.
Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Lake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
714,223
Census ACS
Median income
$110,416
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
214
118,032 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waukegan CUSD 60
- Waukegan High SchoolHigh · 4,186 students
- John R Lewis Middle SchoolMiddle · 721 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- Carman-Buckner Elem SchoolElementary · 509 students
Other schools in Waukegan
- Waukegan High SchoolHigh · 4,186 students
- John R Lewis Middle SchoolMiddle · 721 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- LEARN John Kathy Schreiber ChrtrElementary · 519 students
Nearby schools
- Jack Benny Middle School0.3 mi · 475
- John S Clark Elem School0.7 mi · 262
- Oakdale Elem School0.9 mi · 505
- H R McCall Elem School1.0 mi · 396
- Clearview Elem School1.1 mi · 404
- Early Learning Center1.1 mi · 221
Frequently asked questions
About Little Fort Elem SchoolHow many students attend Little Fort Elem School?
Little Fort Elem School enrolls approximately 421 students in grades KG-05.
Is Little Fort Elem School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Little Fort Elem School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Little Fort Elem School?
Approximately 13.6:1 students per teacher at Little Fort Elem School.
How diverse is Little Fort Elem School?
Little Fort Elem School reports a student body of 2% White, 76% Hispanic, 15% Black, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Little Fort Elem School?
Little Fort Elem School is overseen by Waukegan CUSD 60 in Lake County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.