Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Prairie-Hills Junior High School is a junior high of roomy scale in Markham, Illinois, part of Prairie-Hills ESD 144, hosting 766 students in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 66% bigger than the state mean of about 462.

Prairie-Hills ESD 144 comprises 9 schools with combined enrollment of 2,473 students; Prairie-Hills Junior High School is among them.

Looking at the student body, Prairie-Hills Junior High School records that Black students make up the majority at 77%. Other groups include 19% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 22% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Prairie-Hills Junior High School has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 25.5:1. The state averages around 13.0:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 94% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is higher than Cook County's rate of about 66%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Prairie-Hills Junior High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 17.2%; this one delivers 21.1%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Cook County indicate median household earnings sit near $83,498, about 43% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Cook County's 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), Prairie-Hills Junior High School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Prairie-Hills STEAM Academy, around 0.1 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Prairie-Hills Junior High School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 19.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Prairie-Hills Junior High School's enrollment has ticked down 15% since 2018, when it stood at 906 (now 766). Over the same period, the Black share ticked down from 89% to 77%. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 14.4:1 in 2018 to 25.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.