Parkside Elem Community Academy, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Parkside Elem Community Academy

Parkside Elem Community Academy is a small public school serving about a quarter-thousand students from pre-K through eighth grade on the South Side of Chicago. The enrollment is compact, with grades distributed evenly across the band; the largest grades are fifth and sixth, with kindergarten and pre-K not far behind. Racially, the school is predominantly Black, with a small Hispanic presence. Poverty data were not available for this school, so a parent cannot see the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The academic picture here is a serious concern. State test results from the most recent year show proficiency rates well below typical even for a district with broad challenges. In math, third and fourth graders are near zero proficiency; fifth grade sits at single digits; sixth grade drops to near zero again; seventh grade reaches low double digits; and eighth grade shows zero proficiency. The pattern in English language arts is somewhat better: third grade is single digits, fourth grade in the low twenties, fifth grade nearly half, sixth grade in the low forties, seventh grade in the low to mid-twenties, and eighth grade in the low to mid-thirties. Science was tested only in fifth and eighth grades, with proficiency in the single digits in fifth and zero in eighth. Across the board, participation rates are high, showing that students sat for the tests; what the results show is that very few met the state's proficiency bar.

Within Cook County schools, Parkside ranks in the bottom quartile on a summary measure of proficiency across tested grades and subjects. This is a low-performing school by state standards, and a parent considering it should understand that clearly and may want to speak directly with the school about why results are where they are, what moves the school has made or plans to make, and whether the school's approach aligns with their family's expectations.

The school is a regular Chicago Public Schools campus, not a charter or magnet. It sits at a South Side address in a neighborhood with modest home values and rental rates typical of less affluent Chicago areas. The district itself is in transition: voters elected school board members for the first time in November 2024, with full election of all 21 seats set for November 2026, and the board adopted a five-year strategic plan in 2024 that emphasizes neighborhood schools over choice-based enrollment. The district also launched new school dashboards in late 2024 to replace numerical ratings, and it has rolled out a universal PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline that covers six content areas and is available to all schools at no cost.

No data on program offerings, staffing, school discipline, course access, or attendance were available, so a parent would need to consult the school website or contact the school directly about what else the school offers beyond the basic structure. The school serves a neighborhood population and appears to be serving students who live in its area; whether the school has waiting lists, dedicated programs for specific learners, or other distinctive features is not evident from the data provided.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 34%

School 4% · District 38% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 45%

School 5% · District 29% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 24% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 63%

School 3% · District 23% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 23% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 36% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 39% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 43% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 45% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 46% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 48% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 29% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 31% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 27 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.