Palos West Elementary School

As a high-enrollment K-5 school in Palos Park, Illinois, Palos West Elementary School serves 700 students from grades pre-K through 5, part of Palos CCSD 118. Enrollment runs roughly 84% larger than the state mean of about 381.

Palos West Elementary School is one of 3 schools operated by Palos CCSD 118, a district that serves 2,122 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Palos West Elementary School reports that 77% of the student body identifies as White; the rest comes out to 14% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 3% Asian, 2% Black. The wider county runs roughly 44% White, putting the school's mix considerably more White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 35% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Palos West Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 51.5%; Palos West Elementary School posts 73.4%, +22.0 points above that line.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Cook County indicate median household earnings sit near $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Palos West Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Carl Sandburg High School, roughly 1.2 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Palos West Elementary School operates from an outer-ring location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Palos West Elementary School has grew 10%, going from 639 students in 2018 to 700 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 16.6:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.