Peterson Elem School

Located at 5510 N Christiana Ave, in Chicago, Illinois, Peterson Elem School is a substantial elementary school that teaches 913 students (grades pre-K through 8), run under Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Peterson Elem School sits 140% above that benchmark.

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

In terms of who attends, Peterson Elem School reports that 37% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school reports 27% Asian, 26% White, 6% Black, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 27% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school employs 61 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Peterson Elem School higher than the state norm the norm. About 57% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Peterson Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 38.7%, the actual is 42.8%, a residual of +4.1 points.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Cook County) records that the typical household earns roughly $83,498 per year, about 43% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Cook County's 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), Peterson Elem School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Northside College Preparatory Hs, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Peterson Elem School at 6th of 9; the average score across the group is 50.4%.

Peterson Elem School operates from a high-density location.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Peterson Elem School has changed only slightly, going from 891 students in 2018 to 913 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.8:1 in 2018 to 15.0:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.