Washington Elem School

Washington Elem School is an elementary school of compact scale in Riverdale, Illinois, part of Dolton SD 148, works with 282 students in grades K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 381 students per school, that is 26% smaller than typical.

Dolton SD 148 comprises 10 schools with combined enrollment of 2,077 students; Washington Elem School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Washington Elem School records that nearly all students (93%) are Black. Beyond that, the school reports 3% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 22%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.7:1. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Washington Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 14.0%, the actual is 12.7%, a residual of -1.3 points.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Cook County shows median household earnings sit near $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Washington Elem School is one.

Washington Junior High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Washington Elem School. On composite proficiency, Washington Elem School comes 8th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 21.6%.

Washington Elem School operates from a suburban location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Washington Elem School has showed little movement, going from 280 students in 2018 to 282 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment ticked down from 99% to 93% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 11.7:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.