Northwest Elem School

Northwest Elem School is an elementary-level community of sprawling scale in La Salle, Illinois, overseen by La Salle ESD 122, educateing 650 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 71% bigger than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Northwest Elem School is one of 2 schools operated by La Salle ESD 122, a district that instructs 919 students overall.

Demographically, Northwest Elem School reports that the largest single group is White at 52%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest is composed of 35% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 5% Black. By comparison, LaSalle County as a whole is about 86% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Roughly 68% of students at Northwest Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is higher than LaSalle County's rate of about 53%.

After controlling for student poverty, Northwest Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 32.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 30.7%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for LaSalle County indicate median household income runs about $73,045, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Across LaSalle County's 54 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,523 students), Northwest Elem School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Lincoln Jr High School, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Northwest Elem School at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 38.5%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Northwest Elem School has increased 6%, going from 616 students in 2018 to 650 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 13.8:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Northwest Elem School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.