Lenart Elem Regional Gifted Ctr, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Lenart Elem Regional Gifted Ctr

Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center is a public school in Chicago's South Side serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It carries the designation of a regional gifted center, which shapes its identity and enrollment in ways that differ from a typical neighborhood school.

The school enrolls a modest cohort of students balanced across grade bands from pre-K through middle school. The racial and ethnic composition is majority Black, with a substantial Asian minority; white, Hispanic, and multiracial students make up smaller shares. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch data or English learner counts, which is typical for gifted centers where enrollment is determined by referral and testing rather than neighborhood residence.

On state assessments in English language arts, Lenart's performance is strong across the middle grades. By sixth grade, proficiency reaches a high mark, and seventh and eighth grade students show solid attainment in reading and writing. In math, the picture is uneven by grade. Third grade underperforms relative to the school's other results. Fourth through seventh grades show above-average proficiency for tested students. Eighth grade math proficiency drops noticeably, which a parent may want to explore directly with the school to understand whether this reflects student cohort differences, curricular transitions, or instruction. Science results in the available tested grades (fifth and eighth) are strong.

Across the range of tested subjects and grades, Lenart's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile among Cook County school districts, a positioning that reflects the school's mission and student population. However, a visitor reading these results should keep in mind that gifted centers enroll students selected for advanced ability, so these outcomes are not directly comparable to schools serving all-comers. The proficiency rates reflect both instructional quality and enrollment selectivity.

The school operates within Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest district. CPS is in transition. In November 2024, Chicago held its first school board elections, with fully elected governance set to begin in 2027; that shift reshapes how district policy is set and gives parents direct voting power over the board. The district adopted a strategic plan in 2024 called "Together We Rise" that emphasizes strengthening neighborhood schools and moves away from the school-choice enrollment model that has historically defined CPS. While the district backed off immediate policy changes to selective enrollment and magnet admissions, the direction of investment and rhetoric has shifted toward neighborhood-based access. At the same time, CPS rolled out Skyline, a new universal PreK-12 curriculum in six content areas that is available to all district schools, standardizing instructional materials across hundreds of campuses for the first time. In December 2024, CPS also replaced its longtime numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards that account for more than test scores.

For families in Chicago's South Side seeking a gifted pathway, Lenart provides a regional access point with documented strength in reading and writing and competitive overall proficiency. The school does not operate as a neighborhood school; enrollment is selective. Parents weighing this option should discuss the referral process with the school and understand that gifted centers serve students identified as advanced, which differs from the demographic and ability mix at traditional public schools. The eighth-grade math performance dip warrants a direct conversation with administrators about curriculum and support during the middle school transition.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 38% · ▲ 26 pts above district

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

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 29% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 24% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 23% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

Grade 779%

School 79% · District 27% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 23% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 36% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 39% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 43% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 6100%

School 100% · District 45% · ▲ 55 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 57 pts above county median

Grade 790%

School 90% · District 46% · ▲ 44 pts above district

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

Grade 887%

School 87% · District 48% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Science

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 29% · ▲ 61 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 63 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 31% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 53 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.