Enrollment
305
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CRETE MONEE CUSD 201U·NCES 171125001349
Talala Elementary School
430 Talala St, Park Forest, IL 60466 · (708) 367-2560 · Will County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL305 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
260 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 47 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 48 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 53 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 16% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
16.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +7.3pp since 2023
Math
14.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +8.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 16 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 16.3% | 14.2% |
| 2023-24 | 9.0% | 5.6% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
13.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 13% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 22% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Talala Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 13.4% | #1,803 of 1,925 | #92 of 94 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.2% | #1,765 of 2,077 | #92 of 100 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 16.3% | #1,992 of 2,077 | #99 of 100 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 305 | #1,511 of 2,419 | #94 of 116 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #1,696 of 2,035 | #81 of 107 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.3% | #816 of 2,042 | #66 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 85.2% | #397 of 2,132 | #18 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.7% | #589 of 615 | #34 of 36 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
305
+44 (+17%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 435
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 305 | 19.3 | 15.8:1 | 85% (260) |
| 2023-24 | 287 | 23.8 | 12.1:1 | 100% (286) |
| 2022-23 | 287 | 14.3 | 20.1:1 | 97% (278) |
| 2020-21 | 261 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 303 | 21 | 14.4:1 | 92% (279) |
| 2015-16 | 329 | 18 | 18.3:1 | 90% (295) |
| 2010-11 | 360 | 18 | 20.0:1 | 86% (308) |
| 2000-01 | 243 | 16 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 435 | 21 | 20.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Talala Elementary School.
About Talala Elementary School
Park Forest, Illinois, is home to Talala Elementary School, a small elementary school. The school counts 305 students across kindergarten through 5.
Crete Monee CUSD 201U has 8 schools and 4,562 students, and Talala Elementary School is one of those schools.
Black students are the majority at Talala Elementary School, with 59% of enrollment. After that, the student body is 33% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. Among all residents of Will County, the Black share is about 12%. The school's diversity index is 53%, meaning two students picked at random have a 53% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Talala Elementary School's 19.3 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 15.8:1. That is higher than the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 85%. Compared with the 44% average for public schools in Will County, the school's rate is higher.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Talala Elementary School would be expected to post about 22.3%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 13.4%.
County data help place the school in context: in Will County, the median household income is $109,984, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 38% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Will County is home to 209 public schools and about 113,008 public school students.
Blackhawk Primary Center is the closest public school, about 0.6 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The school's 13.4% average proficiency ranks 8th among 8 nearby schools.
Talala Elementary School is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
Federal data show a 17% enrollment gain, from 261 in 2020-21 to 305 in 2024-25.
If you have questions about school safety, transportation, and start times at Talala Elementary School, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Crete Monee CUSD 201U
- Crete-Monee High SchoolHigh · 1,480 students
- Crete-Monee Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,002 students
- Balmoral Elementary SchoolElementary · 472 students
- Crete Elementary SchoolElementary · 381 students
- Monee Elementary SchoolElementary · 373 students
- Coretta Scott King Magnet SchoolElementary · 293 students
Other schools in Park Forest
- Michelle Obama School of TechnologyMiddle · 428 students
- Illinois SchoolElementary · 391 students
- Mohawk Primary CenterElementary · 283 students
- Indiana Elementary SchoolMiddle · 215 students
- Blackhawk Primary CenterElementary · 167 students
- 21st Century Primary CenterElementary · 152 students
Nearby schools
- Blackhawk Primary Center0.6 mi · 167
- Mohawk Primary Center0.7 mi · 283
- Richton Square School0.8 mi · 161
- 21st Century Primary Center1.0 mi · 152
- Michelle Obama School of Technology1.2 mi · 428
- Sauk Elementary School1.8 mi · 281
Frequently asked questions
About Talala Elementary SchoolHow large is Talala Elementary School?
Talala Elementary School enrolls approximately 305 students in grades KG-05.
Is Talala Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Talala Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Talala Elementary School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Talala Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Talala Elementary School?
At Talala Elementary School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 33% Hispanic, 59% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Talala Elementary School in?
Talala Elementary School is part of Crete Monee CUSD 201U.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.