Gallistel Elem Language Academy, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Gallistel Elem Language Academy

Gallistel Elementary Language Academy is a public school on the South Side of Chicago serving pre-K through eighth grade, with an enrollment spread relatively evenly across grade bands. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with much smaller African American, white, and Asian populations represented. The school carries "Language Academy" in its name, suggesting a focused approach to language instruction, though specific program details were not available in the data provided.

Academic performance presents a mixed picture across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, performance is uneven: third grade shows low proficiency, but fourth through sixth grades improve notably, with fifth grade reaching a higher mark. By seventh and eighth grade, proficiency declines again. Mathematics results are consistently concerning across all tested grades, with proficiency particularly low in fifth, sixth, and eighth grades. Science proficiency in fifth and eighth grades also falls in the lower range. Overall proficiency at Gallistel ranks in the bottom quartile among Cook County districts, a positioning that merits serious attention from prospective families. The school's performance suggests students are facing sustained challenges in foundational math skills that compound across the middle grades, which a parent may want to look into further with the school directly.

The neighborhood context matters here. Chicago has resumed growth and is approving housing at increasing rates, though recent completions remain concentrated downtown and along the North Lakefront. The broader 13-county metro is expanding for the third straight year. In the 60617 zip code where Gallistel sits, home values and rents reflect modest affordability, with monthly rent around a mid-range value. The housing market in Cook County shows elevated supply and lower demand, giving buyers and renters more options than in prior years. The Chicago Park District and public transit network provide substantial pedestrian infrastructure and access across neighborhoods.

CPS itself is undergoing structural change. The school board is transitioning from mayoral appointment to full election, with all seats being elected for the first time in November 2026. The district adopted a five-year strategic plan called "Together We Rise" that prioritizes neighborhood schools and a shift away from the school-choice model that has long defined the system. A new universal curriculum called Skyline, rolled out across content areas since 2022, now standardizes instruction across most district schools. In December 2024, CPS replaced its numeric school ratings with holistic accountability dashboards, meaning families no longer see a simple score but instead a more nuanced profile of each school's experience and resources.

At Gallistel itself, specific details on staffing, discipline practices, attendance rates, or specialized programming were not disclosed in available data. A parent evaluating this school should request concrete information on what drives the gap between stronger English language arts results in the elementary grades and the steeper declines in mathematics, what curriculum supports exist for students who are not reaching proficiency, and what language-specific instruction or immersion the academy model actually delivers. The school's positioning as a language academy raises a natural question: what languages are taught, how intensive is that instruction, and does it correlate with student engagement and growth in core subjects. Given the proficiency pattern, understanding the school's approach to math intervention and middle-grade mathematics instruction would be essential for any family considering enrollment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 38% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 29% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 24% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 23% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 27% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 36% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 43% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 46% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 48% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 29% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 31% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below 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.