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Alumni: what's one memory from Pershing Elem School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
621
Elementary
DISTRICT 392 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOLIET PSD 86·NCES 172058002340
Pershing Elementary School
251 N Midland Ave, Joliet, IL 60435 · (815) 725-0986 · Will County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL621 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.0:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
597 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 15 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 96 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 90 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 97 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 107 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 117 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 99 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (96) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (99).
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
27.2%
IL avg 51.0% . +14.1pp since 2023
Math
12.5%
IL avg 37.9% . +4.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 13 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 27.2% | 12.5% |
| 2023-24 | 13.1% | 8.3% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
18.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
16.0%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 16% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Pershing Elementary School
Pershing Elementary School's state test result (18.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pershing Elementary School this school | 621 | 96.1% | 18.3% |
| Morrill Elementary Math & Sci School Chicago | 600 | 96.2% | 21.0% |
| Lynne Thigpen Elementary School Joliet | 620 | 93.9% | 18.9% |
| Cameron Elementary School Chicago | 671 | 97.5% | 18.1% |
| Piccolo Elementary Specialty School Chicago | 643 | 92.2% | 19.2% |
| Farragut Elementary School Joliet | 568 | 94.2% | 15.9% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Pershing Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.3% | #1,659 of 1,925 | #89 of 94 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.5% | #1,810 of 2,077 ▼ 99 | #96 of 100 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 27.2% | #1,739 of 2,077 ▲ 94 | #90 of 100 ▲ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 621 | #229 of 2,419 | #13 of 116 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.0:1 | #1,965 of 2,035 | #103 of 107 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.6% | #974 of 2,042 | #73 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.1% | #114 of 2,132 | #5 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.6% | #409 of 615 | #25 of 36 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
621
+48 (+8%) vs 2020
+38% since 1990-91, when it was 449
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 621 | 32.7 | 19.0:1 | 96% (597) |
| 2023-24 | 606 | 30.3 | 20.0:1 | 95% (576) |
| 2022-23 | 559 | 31 | 18.0:1 | 94% (524) |
| 2020-21 | 573 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 588 | 30.6 | 19.2:1 | 99% (585) |
| 2015-16 | 603 | 31 | 19.4:1 | 100% (603) |
| 2010-11 | 539 | 27 | 20.0:1 | 74% (400) |
| 2000-01 | 485 | 21 | 23.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 449 | 19 | 23.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pershing Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (588 to 621); teachers up 7% (30.6 to 32.7).
About Pershing Elementary School
Pershing Elementary School, a large elementary school, is located in Joliet, Illinois. Enrollment totals 621 students across kindergarten through 5. That puts enrollment 63% bigger than the 381-student average for elementary schools in Illinois.
The district, Joliet PSD 86, has 9,333 students enrolled across 20 schools.
Federal enrollment data show Pershing Elementary School is 70% Hispanic. Other groups include 17% Black, 10% White, and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 20% Hispanic. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 48%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pershing Elementary School is 19.0:1, based on 32.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1. Lunch program data show 96% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. On average, public schools in Will County report 44%.
Schools in Illinois with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 16.0%. Pershing Elementary School scores 18.3%.
The county, Will County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $109,984, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 38% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. The county has 209 public schools and about 113,008 students.
A public school about 0.5 miles away, Joliet West High School, is the closest to Pershing Elementary School. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Pershing Elementary School. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Pershing Elementary School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Pershing Elementary School is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 573 to 621, an 8% rise.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Joliet PSD 86
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Dirksen Junior High SchoolMiddle · 653 students
- Sator Sanchez Elementary SchoolElementary · 635 students
- Lynne Thigpen Elementary SchoolElementary · 620 students
- Gompers Junior High SchoolMiddle · 615 students
Other schools in Joliet
- Joliet West High SchoolHigh · 3,451 students
- Joliet Central High SchoolHigh · 3,295 students
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Aux Sable Middle SchoolMiddle · 844 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Dirksen Junior High SchoolMiddle · 653 students
Other Pershing Elementary schools
10 other US public schools in 7 states are named Pershing Elementary. Pershing Elementary School is the largest of the 11.
- Pershing Elementary SchoolBerwyn, IL · 418 students
- Pershing ElementaryOrangevale, CA · 494 students
- PERSHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLINCOLN, NE · 421 students
- Pershing Elementary SchoolMuskogee, OK · 324 students
- PERSHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLEXINGTON, NE · 312 students
Nearby schools
- Joliet West High School0.5 mi · 3,451
- Dirksen Junior High School0.6 mi · 653
- Lynne Thigpen Elementary School0.6 mi · 620
- Farragut Elementary School0.9 mi · 568
- Taft Elementary School1.1 mi · 424
- Hufford Junior High School1.2 mi · 1,072
Frequently asked questions
About Pershing Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Pershing Elementary School?
Pershing Elementary School enrolls approximately 621 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Pershing Elementary School serve?
Pershing Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Pershing Elementary School?
Approximately 19.0:1 students per teacher at Pershing Elementary School.
How diverse is Pershing Elementary School?
Pershing Elementary School reports a student body of 10% White, 70% Hispanic, 17% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Pershing Elementary School?
Pershing Elementary School is overseen by Joliet PSD 86 in Will County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.