Prairie Elem School

Located at 500 S Charles Ave, in Naperville, Illinois, Prairie Elem School is a mid-sized elementary campus that works with 515 students (grades K through 5), one of the schools within Naperville CUSD 203. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Prairie Elem School sits 35% bigger than that benchmark.

Naperville CUSD 203 runs 22 schools in total, collectively educating 16,047 students. Prairie Elem School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Prairie Elem School records that the largest single group is White, at 73% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school shows 10% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 3% Black. The wider county runs roughly 65% White, putting the school's mix considerably more White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 8% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, DuPage County runs at roughly 34%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Prairie Elem 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 66.7%; Prairie Elem School posts 84.0%, +17.3 points above that line.

In the surrounding community, DuPage County reports that the typical household earns roughly $112,096 per year, about 52% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Prairie Elem School is one of 277 public schools in DuPage County (combined enrollment of about 138,557 students).

The closest other public school is Highlands Elem School, roughly 0.8 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Prairie Elem School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 77.1%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Prairie Elem School's enrollment has changed only slightly since 2018, when it stood at 503 (now 515). Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 14.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Prairie Elem School typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.