Ruggles Elem School

Ruggles Elem School is a cozy primary school in Chicago, Illinois, run under Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. The school educates 290 students in grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 24% leaner than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Across the 622 schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 (324,396 students total), Ruggles Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Ruggles Elem School records that 93% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Other groups include 6% Hispanic. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 22%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.6:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 92% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Cook County's rate of about 66%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Ruggles Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 18.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 23.7%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Cook County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $83,498 per year, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Ruggles Elem School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Lenart Elem Regional Gifted Ctr, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Ruggles Elem School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 27.3%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 29%: 408 students in 2018 compared to 290 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 98% to 93%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 20.6:1 in 2018 to 11.6:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.