Lasalle Elem Language Academy, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Lasalle Elem Language Academy

LaSalle Elem Language Academy is a neighborhood school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Chicago's Near North Side, located on Orleans Street. The school enrolls a modest population distributed evenly across its nine grade levels, with roughly equal numbers of students in each. The student body reflects Chicago's diversity: just under two-fifths are Black students, about one-fifth are Hispanic, nearly one-third are white, a smaller share are Asian, and the remainder identify as two or more races. Free and reduced lunch data was not available.

The school's academic profile shows mixed results by grade and subject. In English language arts, students in grades 3 and 4 perform below proficiency benchmarks, but performance rises in the middle grades, with grade 7 showing notably stronger results and grade 8 remaining solid. Math presents a more uneven picture: grades 3 and 4 show above-midpoint proficiency, but grades 5 and 6 drop substantially, and grades 7 and 8 recover only partially. Science is tested in grades 5 and 8 with results hovering around or slightly below the midpoint. All students tested participate fully, and all school assessment data comes from Illinois's standardized assessments administered in the current school year.

Against other schools in Cook County, LaSalle sits above the median overall when proficiency rates are averaged across tested subjects and grades. This positioning reflects that the school clears a threshold of performance that puts it ahead of half its county peer schools, though the grade-by-grade variation suggests uneven strength. The trajectory upward in ELA from lower to middle grades, paired with the math vulnerability in grades 5 and 6, points to distinct learning dynamics that a parent may want to explore further with the school, particularly around which instructional approaches and supports exist for students in transition to middle-level math.

The school's magnet designation is language-focused, a defining feature that shapes both curriculum and student composition. Beyond the testing data provided, enrollment records show the school is at full capacity across all grades. The school operates as part of Chicago Public Schools, which is undergoing significant structural and policy shifts. The district is transitioning from a mayor-appointed board to a fully elected one, began rolling out a universal curriculum (Skyline) across content areas starting several years ago, and has adopted a strategic pivot toward strengthening neighborhood schools while moderating its long-standing emphasis on school choice and selective enrollment. These changes represent a reorienting of district culture and resource allocation that may touch how the school serves its enrollment and which families consider it a fit.

Housing values in the school's zip code and surrounding Near North Side neighborhoods reflect premium pricing for urban living near downtown amenities and lakefront access, with rents also elevated. The area is marked by dense mixed-use development, pedestrian-oriented commercial corridors, and is one of Chicago's most walkable zones with strong public transit access via CTA rail and bus. The Near North Side includes historic neighborhoods with defined character and sits near major cultural institutions and parks. This is an urban school in an established, transit-rich neighborhood, not a growing suburban or exurban setting.

No data on chronic absenteeism, school discipline, staffing, special education enrollment, English learner identification, or program offerings beyond the language academy structure was available in the provided records. A parent seeking information on special services, inclusion practices, extracurriculars, or attendance patterns would need to contact the school directly. State assessment score change trends could not be calculated because testing methodology changed at the state level in the current year, making prior-year comparisons unsafe.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 38% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 474%

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

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 24% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 23% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 759%

School 59% · District 27% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 23% · ▲ 27 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 36% · ▲ 20 pts above district

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

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 39% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 43% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 45% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

Grade 778%

School 78% · District 46% · ▲ 31 pts above district

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

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 48% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 29% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 31% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 23 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.