Smith Elem School

Smith Elem School, a moderately sized primary school in Aurora, Illinois, run under Aurora West USD 129, enrolls 425 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Smith Elem School is one of 16 schools operated by Aurora West USD 129, a district that serves 11,020 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Smith Elem School lists that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 76% of enrollment. Other groups include 10% Black, 8% White, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 33% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 31.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.7:1. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is about 13.9:1. Roughly 60% of students at Smith Elem School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is above Kane County's rate of about 48%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Smith Elem School sits in the bottom 10% of Illinois schools on this measure. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 36.6%; actual is 22.0%, a gap of -14.6 points.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Kane County indicate the typical household earns roughly $103,163 per year, roughly 38% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Kane County runs 167 public schools (combined enrollment of about 87,252 students), of which Smith Elem School is one.

The closest other public school is Illinois Mathematics and Science, about 1.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Smith Elem School at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 28.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 7%: 456 students in 2017-18 compared to 425 in 2024-25. Hispanic enrollment moved from 56% to 76% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.