Onahan Elem School

Onahan Elem School, a sprawling elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, operated by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, works with 657 students, covering grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 72% above the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which oversees 622 schools and 324,396 students, Onahan Elem School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Onahan Elem School shows that White students make up the majority at 59%. The remainder looks like 31% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 44% White, putting the school's mix noticeably more White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Onahan Elem School has 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.4:1. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 31% of students at Onahan Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is south of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Onahan Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 53.4%, the actual is 57.1%, a residual of +3.7 points.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Cook County put median household income runs about $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Onahan Elem School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Norwood Park Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Onahan Elem School at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 58.1%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Five-year trend. Onahan Elem School's enrollment has stayed largely flat since 2018, when it stood at 655 (now 657). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 63% to 59%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 19.8:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Onahan Elem School community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.