Penn Elem School

As a compact elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, Penn Elem School serves 218 students from grades pre-K through 8, run under Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. That puts it 43% smaller than 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, Penn Elem School is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Penn Elem School records that 88% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority; the rest consists of 11% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 22% Black, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Black than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Penn Elem School has 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 9.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. About 85% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Penn Elem School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 22.2%; this one delivers 9.3%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Cook County) records that the typical household earns roughly $83,498 per year, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Penn Elem School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Nearest neighbor: KIPP Chicago Chrtrs - Ascend Acad, around 0.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Penn Elem School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 11.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 30%: 313 students in 2018 compared to 218 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 9.2:1 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.