North Elem School

Set in Waukegan, Illinois, North Elem School is a mid-sized elementary campus, one of the schools within Waukegan CUSD 60. It educates 498 students across grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 31% larger than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Across the 22 schools in Waukegan CUSD 60 (13,640 students total), North Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, North Elem School logs that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (84%). Other groups include 11% Black, 2% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 25% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Roughly 76% of students at North Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Lake County runs at roughly 54%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), North Elem School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 27.4%; this one comes in at 11.5%, -16.0 points off the demographic line.

In the broader community, census data for Lake County shows median household earnings sit near $110,416, about 48% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. North Elem School is one of 214 public schools in Lake County (combined enrollment of about 118,032 students).

Glen Flora Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around North Elem School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts North Elem School at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 25.2%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Over the past 7-year window. North Elem School's enrollment has ticked down 19% since 2018, when it stood at 613 (now 498). Hispanic enrollment moved from 74% to 84% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 21.1:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.