Washington Elem School

As a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Waukegan, Illinois, Washington Elem School enrolls 384 students from grades K through 5, run under Waukegan CUSD 60.

Across the 22 schools in Waukegan CUSD 60 (13,640 students total), Washington Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Washington Elem School records that 92% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Beyond that, the school shows 6% Black. By comparison, Lake County as a whole is about 25% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school lists 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.4:1. The state averages around 13.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 78% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Lake County (around 54%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Washington Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 26.3%, the actual is 23.6%, a residual of -2.6 points.

In the broader community, Lake County reports that the typical household earns roughly $110,416 per year, about 48% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Washington Elem School is one of 214 public schools in Lake County (combined enrollment of about 118,032 students).

The closest other public school is John R Lewis Middle School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Washington Elem School at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 19.9%.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 33%: 574 students in 2018 compared to 384 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 84% to 92% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 12.4:1 in 2025.

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