McKinley Elem School

McKinley Elem School is an elementary school of average-sized scale in Ottawa, Illinois, one of the schools within Ottawa ESD 141, instructing 364 students in grades pre-K through 4.

Ottawa ESD 141 comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 1,747 students; McKinley Elem School is among them.

In terms of who attends, McKinley Elem School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (80%); the rest consists of 12% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 2% Black.

In terms of school funding signals, McKinley Elem School reports 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.9:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 41% of students at McKinley Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is south of LaSalle County's rate of about 53%.

With demographic context factored in, McKinley Elem School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 47.9%; this one delivers 61.5%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for LaSalle County put median household income runs about $73,045, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, LaSalle County runs 54 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,523 students), of which McKinley Elem School is one.

The closest other public school is Shepherd Middle School, roughly 0.6 miles away. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), McKinley Elem School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 47.6%.

McKinley Elem School operates from a town-based location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at McKinley Elem School has fell 4%, going from 378 students in 2018 to 364 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.