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What tradition at V H Nelson Elem School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
479
Elementary
DISTRICT 433 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EAST MAINE SD 63·NCES 171314001553
V H Nelson Elementary School
8901 N Ozanam Ave, Niles, IL 60714 · (847) 965-0050 · Cook County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL479 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 35% of Illinois public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
63%
304 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 56%
Community
6
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 | 67 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 88 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 94 | 20% |
| Grade 5 | 75 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (67) is 11% smaller than its 5th grade class (75).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
V H Nelson Elementary School→Gemini Middle School
Based on grade levels within East Maine SD 63. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
39.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +15.3pp since 2023
Math
33.9%
IL avg 37.9% . +11.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 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 15 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.6% | 33.9% |
| 2023-24 | 24.3% | 22.7% |
% 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
34.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 →
Schools most like V H Nelson Elementary School
V H Nelson Elementary School's state test result (34.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| V H Nelson Elementary School this school | 479 | 63.5% | 34.1% |
| Carol Stream Elementary School Carol Stream | 396 | 61.4% | 43.9% |
| Robert Frost Elementary School Mount Prospect | 532 | 57.9% | 26.2% |
| Western Trails Elementary School Carol Stream | 320 | 56.9% | 43.9% |
| Devonshire School Des Plaines | 370 | 61.1% | 46.8% |
| Glen Hill Elementary School Glendale Heights | 398 | 52.5% | 45.1% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where V H Nelson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.1% | #1,120 of 1,925 | #331 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 33.9% | #1,156 of 2,077 ▼ 79 | #350 of 829 ▼ 33 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.6% | #1,356 of 2,077 ▲ 45 | #466 of 829 ▲ 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 479 | #632 of 2,419 | #301 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.0:1 | #538 of 2,035 | #275 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.1% | #112 of 2,042 | #50 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 63.5% | #904 of 2,132 | #513 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.1% | #530 of 1,461 | #305 of 661 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
479
+27 (+6%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 600
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 | 479 | 40 | 12.0:1 | 63% (304) |
| 2023-24 | 476 | 36.8 | 12.9:1 | 64% (307) |
| 2022-23 | 447 | 36.8 | 12.2:1 | 60% (267) |
| 2020-21 | 452 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 585 | 39.5 | 14.8:1 | 56% (327) |
| 2015-16 | 592 | 38 | 15.6:1 | 53% (311) |
| 2010-11 | 580 | 37 | 15.7:1 | 49% (285) |
| 2000-01 | 588 | 33 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 600 | 34 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for V H Nelson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (585 to 479); teachers up 1% (39.5 to 40).
About V H Nelson Elementary School
V H Nelson Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Niles, Illinois, (ZIP code 60714). The student body numbers 479 students, from kindergarten through 5. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Illinois) has about 381 students.
V H Nelson Elementary School is one of 7 schools in East Maine SD 63, which enrolls 3,706 students in total.
Enrollment at V H Nelson Elementary School is mixed, with White students the largest group at 36%. The school is also 33% Hispanic, 21% Asian, 6% multiracial, and 3% Black. By the diversity index, V H Nelson Elementary School comes in at 71%.
The school employs the equivalent of 40 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 12.0:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1, higher than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at V H Nelson Elementary School is 63%.
allk12 grades V H Nelson Elementary School a C+. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 34.9% for V H Nelson Elementary School. The school posts 34.1%, within a point of the prediction.
In Cook County (population about 5,182,090), median household income is about $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 1,406 public schools operate in Cook County, serving about 697,934 students.
Melzer School is the closest public school, about 0.6 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 55.3%; V H Nelson Elementary School's is 34.1%, ranking 7th of 7.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 479 was 6% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 452.
Discussions about V H Nelson Elementary School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in East Maine SD 63
- Gemini Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,111 students
- Apollo Elementary SchoolElementary · 536 students
- Mark Twain Elementary SchoolElementary · 489 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 406 students
- Melzer SchoolElementary · 395 students
- Early Learning CenterElementary · 290 students
Other schools in Niles
- Gemini Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,111 students
- Emerson Middle SchoolMiddle · 890 students
- Clarence E Culver SchoolElementary · 666 students
- Mark Twain Elementary SchoolElementary · 489 students
- Jefferson SchoolElementary · 154 students
Nearby schools
- Melzer School0.6 mi · 395
- Washington Elementary School0.9 mi · 406
- Hynes Elementary School0.9 mi · 325
- Gemini Middle School1.0 mi · 1,111
- Jefferson School1.3 mi · 154
- Golf Middle School1.3 mi · 306
Frequently asked questions
About V H Nelson Elementary SchoolHow many students attend V H Nelson Elementary School?
V H Nelson Elementary School enrolls approximately 479 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does V H Nelson Elementary School serve?
V H Nelson Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at V H Nelson Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at V H Nelson Elementary School is approximately 12.0:1 (40 FTE teachers).
How diverse is V H Nelson Elementary School?
V H Nelson Elementary School reports a student body of 36% White, 33% Hispanic, 3% Black, 21% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees V H Nelson Elementary School?
V H Nelson Elementary School is overseen by East Maine SD 63 in Cook County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.