1
If you could change one rule at Waters Elem School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
702
Elementary
DISTRICT 463 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993001147
Waters Elementary School
4540 N Campbell Ave, Chicago, IL 60625 · (773) 534-5090 · Cook County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL702 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
161 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 20 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 92 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 87 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 75 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 83 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 72 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 65 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 52 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (92) is 77% larger than its 8th grade class (52).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
Waters Elementary School→Amundsen High School
Based on published attendance-zone data from Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
68.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +13.9pp since 2023
Math
63.8%
IL avg 37.9% . +20.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 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 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 20 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.9% | 63.8% |
| 2023-24 | 55.0% | 43.6% |
% 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
64.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% 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 Waters Elementary School
Waters Elementary School's state test result (64.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waters Elementary School this school | 702 | 22.9% | 64.8% |
| Robert Crown School Wauconda | 776 | 23.5% | 58.4% |
| Grande Reserve Elementary School Yorkville | 728 | 22.4% | 49.4% |
| Oriole Park Elementary School Chicago | 617 | 24.5% | 63.8% |
| Lisle Elementary School Lisle | 777 | 27.7% | 64.2% |
| Chesak Elementary School Lake in the Hills | 643 | 26.9% | N/A |
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 Waters Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.8% | #213 of 1,925 | #76 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 63.8% | #332 of 2,077 ▲ 125 | #112 of 829 ▲ 35 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.9% | #378 of 2,077 ▼ 28 | #136 of 829 ▼ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 702 | #125 of 2,419 | #81 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #1,596 of 2,035 | #683 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.2% | #681 of 2,042 | #243 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.9% | #1,908 of 2,132 | #736 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.1% | #225 of 615 | #63 of 186 |
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
702
+41 (+6%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 610
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 | 702 | 46 | 15.3:1 | 23% (161) |
| 2023-24 | 659 | 43.5 | 15.2:1 | 21% (140) |
| 2022-23 | 627 | 40 | 15.7:1 | 22% (139) |
| 2020-21 | 661 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 626 | 32.9 | 19.0:1 | 35% (222) |
| 2015-16 | 641 | 32 | 20.0:1 | 39% (248) |
| 2010-11 | 554 | 28 | 19.8:1 | 65% (361) |
| 2000-01 | 632 | 37 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 610 | 30 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waters Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (626 to 702); teachers up 40% (32.9 to 46).
About Waters Elementary School
Waters Elementary School is a high-enrollment elementary school in Illinois, with an address in Chicago. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 702 students in pre-K through 8. Against the 381-student average for elementary schools in Illinois, enrollment here is 84% higher.
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 serves 324,396 students across 622 schools.
White students account for 60% of enrollment at Waters Elementary School. Other groups make up 24% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, and 5% Asian. Cook County as a whole is about 44% White, so the school's share is higher. Waters Elementary School has a diversity index of 57%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Its teaching staff equals 46 full-time positions, a ratio of 15.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 23%. The rate at public schools in Cook County averages 66%, higher than here.
Waters Elementary School's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (64.8%) and its predicted rate (58.3%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Illinois schools.
Cook County has about 5,182,090 residents, and median household income is about $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Cook County number 1,406 and enroll about 697,934.
Bateman Elementary School is located about 0.7 miles from Waters Elementary School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Waters Elementary School ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
The school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (City: Large).
The 2024-25 enrollment of 702 was 6% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 661.
Community posts for Waters Elementary School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. 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 Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other schools in Chicago
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other Waters Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Waters Elementary. Waters Elementary School is the largest of the 3.
- Waters Elementary SchoolLUBBOCK, TX · 464 students
- Waters ElementaryFond du Lac, WI · 389 students
Nearby schools
- Bateman Elementary School0.7 mi · 904
- Coonley Elementary School0.7 mi · 723
- Budlong Elementary School0.8 mi · 776
- McPherson Elementary School0.8 mi · 794
- Devry Advantage Academy High Schl0.8 mi · 152
- Chappell Elementary School0.9 mi · 598
Frequently asked questions
About Waters Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Waters Elementary School?
Waters Elementary School enrolls approximately 702 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Waters Elementary School serve?
Waters Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Waters Elementary School?
Approximately 15.3:1 students per teacher at Waters Elementary School.
How diverse is Waters Elementary School?
Waters Elementary School reports a student body of 60% White, 24% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Waters Elementary School public or private?
Waters Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.