Enrollment
355
Elementary
DISTRICT 327 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EVANSTON CCSD 65·NCES 171446001803
Willard Elementary School
2700 Hurd Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 · (847) 905-3601 · Cook County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL355 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.4:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
80 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 58 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 51 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 69 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 71 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 25% smaller than its 5th grade class (71).
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · 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
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
63.1%
IL avg 51.0% . +14.7pp since 2023
Math
65.1%
IL avg 37.9% . +18.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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 19 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.1% | 65.1% |
| 2023-24 | 48.4% | 46.4% |
% 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
60.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 Willard Elementary School
Willard Elementary School's state test result (60.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willard Elementary School this school | 355 | 22.5% | 60.1% |
| Hoover Wood Elementary School Batavia | 363 | 22.0% | 62.6% |
| Cassell Elementary School Chicago | 364 | 19.8% | 62.3% |
| Hunt Club Elementary School Oswego | 357 | 17.4% | 44.3% |
| Whittier Elementary School Oak Park | 386 | 20.7% | 65.9% |
| William Beye Elementary School Oak Park | 397 | 17.6% | 67.0% |
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 Willard Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.1% | #322 of 1,925 | #99 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.1% | #312 of 2,077 ▲ 72 | #105 of 829 ▲ 25 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.1% | #569 of 2,077 ▼ 33 | #193 of 829 ▼ 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 355 | #1,235 of 2,419 | #510 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.2:1 | #329 of 2,035 | #179 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.4% | #607 of 2,042 | #224 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.5% | #1,917 of 2,132 | #738 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -30.3% | #174 of 1,461 | #109 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
355
-103 (-22%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 444
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 | 355 | 31.6 | 11.2:1 | 23% (80) |
| 2023-24 | 373 | 34 | 11.0:1 | 27% (99) |
| 2022-23 | 367 | 33.7 | 10.9:1 | 26% (94) |
| 2020-21 | 458 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 509 | 36 | 14.1:1 | 23% (119) |
| 2015-16 | 525 | 32 | 16.4:1 | 21% (111) |
| 2010-11 | 438 | 26 | 16.9:1 | 30% (130) |
| 2000-01 | 409 | 33 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 444 | 31 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Willard Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 30% (509 to 355); teachers down 12% (36 to 31.6).
About Willard Elementary School
This page covers Willard Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school in Evanston, Illinois. It covers kindergarten through 5, with a total enrollment of 355 students.
Evanston CCSD 65 counts 6,136 students in its 16 schools, and Willard Elementary School is one of them.
By race and ethnicity, Willard Elementary School is 59% White. After that, the student body is 20% Hispanic, 12% Black, 6% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Census figures show Cook County is about 44% White. Willard Elementary School has a diversity index of 59%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reports 31.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 11.2 students per teacher. The 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois is higher than this school's figure. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 23%. The gap from the 66% average for public schools in Cook County is 43 points.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Willard Elementary School is 1.6 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 60.1% actual, 58.5% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Illinois.
Census Bureau estimates for Cook County show that median household income is about $83,498, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 43% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Willard Elementary School is one of 1,406 public schools in Cook County, which together enroll about 697,934 students.
McKenzie Elementary School is located about 0.6 miles from Willard Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Willard Elementary School ranks 2nd on proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Willard Elementary School went from 458 students to 355.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Evanston CCSD 65
- Haven Middle SchoolMiddle · 660 students
- Nichols Middle SchoolMiddle · 628 students
- Chute Middle SchoolMiddle · 598 students
- Dr ML King Jr Literary&Fine ArtsElementary · 421 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 410 students
- Oakton Elementary SchoolElementary · 379 students
Other schools in Evanston
- Evanston Twp High SchoolHigh · 3,560 students
- Haven Middle SchoolMiddle · 660 students
- Nichols Middle SchoolMiddle · 628 students
- Chute Middle SchoolMiddle · 598 students
- Dr ML King Jr Literary&Fine ArtsElementary · 421 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 410 students
Other Willard Elementary schools
12 other US public schools in 9 states are named Willard Elementary. Willard Elementary School is the 9th largest of the 13.
- Willard Elementary SchoolSouth Elgin, IL · 370 students
- Willard Elementary SchoolRiver Forest, IL · 327 students
- Willard Elementary SchoolMoline, IL · 173 students
- Willard Elementary SchoolWillard, OH · 558 students
- Willard ElementaryLong Beach, CA · 534 students
Nearby schools
- McKenzie Elementary School0.6 mi · 461
- Lincolnwood Elementary School0.6 mi · 288
- Highland Elementary School0.9 mi · 316
- Highcrest Middle School1.0 mi · 748
- Haven Middle School1.1 mi · 660
- Central Elementary School1.1 mi · 485
Frequently asked questions
About Willard Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Willard Elementary School?
Willard Elementary School enrolls approximately 355 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Willard Elementary School serve?
Willard Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary School is approximately 11.2:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Willard Elementary School?
Student demographics at Willard Elementary School are roughly 59% White, 20% Hispanic, 12% Black, 3% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Willard Elementary School in?
Willard Elementary School is part of Evanston CCSD 65.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.