Sherman Elem School

Sherman Elem School operates as a cozy K-5 school in Chicago, Illinois, one of the schools within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Current enrollment sits at 225 students spanning grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 41% smaller than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Sherman Elem School is one of 622 schools operated by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, a district that teaches 324,396 students overall.

Demographically, Sherman Elem School shows that the largest single group is Black, at 71% of enrollment. The remainder looks like 26% Hispanic, 2% White. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 22% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is noticeably above Cook County's rate of about 66%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Sherman Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 15.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 15.4%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Cook County put 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 Sherman Elem School is one.

Holmes Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Sherman Elem School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Sherman Elem School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 19.4%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 12%: 255 students in 2018 compared to 225 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment ticked down from 91% to 71% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 24.0:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Sherman Elem School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.