Yates Elem School

Set in Chicago, Illinois, Yates Elem School is a compact elementary school, operated by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. It instructs 268 students across grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 30% below the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 381 students.

Within Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which oversees 622 schools and 324,396 students, Yates Elem School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Yates Elem School lists that 72% of the student body identifies as Hispanic; the rest breaks down as 20% Black, 4% White, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 27% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Yates Elem School lists 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 8.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.9:1, putting Yates Elem School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 88% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of Cook County's rate of about 66%.

With demographic context factored in, Yates Elem School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 20.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 18.5%.

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 census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Cook County runs 1406 public schools (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students), of which Yates Elem School is one.

Moos Elem School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Yates Elem School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Yates Elem School ranks 6th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 23.2%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Yates Elem School has declined 40%, going from 446 students in 2018 to 268 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 78% to 72% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 8.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Yates Elem School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.