Talman Elem School

Talman Elem School operates as a middle-of-the-pack elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, overseen by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Current enrollment sits at 332 students spanning grades pre-K through 8.

Within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which oversees 622 schools and 324,396 students, Talman Elem School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Talman Elem School lists that nearly all students (90%) are Hispanic. The remainder consists of 7% White. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 27% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Talman Elem School has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. An estimated 90% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Talman Elem School ranks in the top 10% of Illinois public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 19.7%; Talman Elem School posts 39.2%, +19.5 points above that line.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Cook County put median household income runs about $83,498, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Talman Elem School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Carson Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Talman Elem School at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 23.8%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 24%: 436 students in 2018 compared to 332 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 98% to 90% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.9:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.