Franklin Elem Fine Arts Center, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Elem Fine Arts Center

Franklin Elem Fine Arts Center sits in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, part of Chicago Public Schools District 299, the nation's third-largest school system. The school enrolls a small student body spanning kindergarten through eighth grade, with roughly equal cohorts across most grades and slightly larger sixth through eighth grade classes. The building houses a deliberately diverse peer group: about half Black students, a quarter white, and meaningful shares of Hispanic and Asian students, with very few students from other backgrounds.

The school is known for its arts focus, a distinction that shapes its identity within the broader district. The name signals a program emphasis, though detailed information about how that arts mission translates into daily instruction or student experience was not available in the accessible data.

Academic performance, as measured by Illinois state testing, is uneven. In English language arts, the school shows genuine strength, particularly in grades three, five, and six, where the majority of students test proficient. Grades seven and eight also show solid performance in ELA. In math, however, the picture changes sharply. Third grade performs reasonably, but proficiency drops considerably in grades four and five, remains low in sixth grade, and reaches a low point in seventh grade before recovering slightly in eighth. Science results, available only for grades five and eight, sit in the middle range. Compared to other schools in Cook County, Franklin's overall proficiency sits slightly above the median, a positioning that reflects the strength in ELA offsetting the math challenges.

All students participate fully in state assessments. The data does not show the school's free-or-reduced-price lunch rate, special education enrollment, or English learner percentage, so a reader cannot assess economic or language support needs from this record. The school does not serve grades where state testing applies to high school, so there is no graduation rate or college-readiness data.

The school's location places it in a neighborhood with real economic flux. Chicago has resumed population growth after a long decline, and housing values in the school's zip code reflect broad market activity typical of the city. Rents have moved upward. The housing market in Cook County shows moderate supply relative to demand, and prices remain accessible compared to national benchmarks, though climbing.

For a family drawn to the arts focus and comfortable with the school's neighborhood setting, the strength in ELA and moderate overall performance may feel like a good fit. A parent concerned about early math proficiency would want to have a detailed conversation with the school about how it addresses math instruction and support, particularly in the elementary grades where the softest results appear. The school is not selective, and enrollment is genuinely mixed by race and background, creating a peer environment that reflects the diversity of the city.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 38% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 29% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 24% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 23% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 27% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 23% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 36% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 39% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 43% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 45% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 46% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 48% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 29% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 31% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

This schoolChicago Public Schools Dist 299, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.