Willow School

Located at 1804 Willow Rd, in Homewood, Illinois, Willow School is an expansive elementary campus that educates 603 students (grades pre-K through 2), operated by Homewood SD 153. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 381 students each, so Willow School sits 58% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 3 schools in Homewood SD 153 (1,856 students total), Willow School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Willow School logs that 52% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 22% White, 16% Hispanic, 9% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 22% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Willow School has 48 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Willow School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 46% of students at Willow School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Cook County (around 66%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Cook County indicate median household earnings sit near $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Willow School is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Nearest neighbor: Winston Churchill School, around 0.9 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Willow School has ticked down 9%, going from 660 students in 2018 to 603 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 33% to 22% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 14.9:1 in 2018 to 12.5:1 in 2025.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.