Ralston Elem School

Ralston Elem School, a compact elementary-level community in Machesney Park, Illinois, overseen by Harlem UD 122, works with 232 students, covering grades 1 through 5. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Ralston Elem School sits 39% smaller than that benchmark.

Ralston Elem School is one of 11 schools operated by Harlem UD 122, a district that hosts 6,108 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Ralston Elem School logs that 77% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school logs 14% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 66% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully more White than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Ralston Elem School has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.8:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 45% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Winnebago County (around 61%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Ralston Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 45.4%, the actual is 40.9%, a residual of -4.4 points.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Winnebago County shows median household earnings sit near $65,837, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Ralston Elem School is one of 94 public schools in Winnebago County (combined enrollment of about 44,103 students).

Nearest neighbor: Olson Park Elem School, around 0.9 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Ralston Elem School comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 32.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Ralston Elem School has contracted 33%, going from 344 students in 2018 to 232 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment grew from 7% to 14% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

On allk12, 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.