Providence-englewood Elem Charter, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Providence-englewood Elem Charter

Providence-Englewood Elem Charter serves kindergarten through eighth grade in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. The school operates as a charter within Chicago Public Schools District 299, with an enrollment of a few hundred students that is overwhelmingly African American, reflecting the neighborhood's demographics. State testing results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are substantially below where the field typically performs. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from around one in ten eighth graders to roughly one in four seventh graders. In English language arts, results are similarly low, with third graders at around one in six proficient and eighth graders at around one in seven, though fourth and fifth graders perform somewhat higher. Science proficiency in fifth grade sits at around one in six, and in eighth grade at less than one in ten. When proficiency results are averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school falls in the bottom quartile among public schools in Cook County.

The state changed its testing cutoff scores in recent years, so comparisons to prior performance are not fully available. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand both the factors driving these numbers and what support systems are in place to improve them. The school participates fully in state assessments with near or complete participation rates.

The school's grade band means there is no high school component and no graduation rate. Beyond state testing, program information from the school itself was not available in accessible form, so a parent cannot assess from this data whether the school offers specific academic pathways, specialized courses, arts programming, sports, or other distinctive features that might inform a choice. The school's website or a direct call to the administration would be necessary for that picture.

Englewood is one of Chicago's historically significant neighborhoods, predominantly residential with commercial corridors along its major streets. The neighborhood experienced decades of disinvestment but has been the site of selective community development and cultural institution building. Housing in the area is affordable by Chicago standards, with a median home value well below the Chicago metro, though rental costs are rising modestly year over year. The broader Chicago market is showing signs of recovery after a long decline: the city is attracting new residents again after nearly a decade of loss, and housing approvals in the city have risen. Cook County as a whole has a moderate supply of homes on the market and declining demand relative to a year prior.

Chicago Public Schools is itself in transition. The school board was fully appointed by the mayor until recently; voters elected the first ten board members in November 2024, with the remaining seats to be elected in November 2026, giving families a direct voice in governance for the first time in decades. The district has announced a strategic shift toward strengthening neighborhood schools and backing away from the school-choice admissions model that has long dominated CPS. It also rolled out a new, comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline across all subject areas, the first time the district has offered a unified curriculum to all schools at no per-school cost. In December 2024 the district replaced its longtime numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards that look beyond test scores to school experience and resources.

For a family in or near Englewood, Providence-Englewood Elem Charter offers a neighborhood school option with small class sizes and a tight peer group. The proficiency data indicates that students are not reaching state standards at high rates and that the school will require careful evaluation of its academic supports and improvement trajectory. Families should speak directly with school leadership about curriculum, interventions, and what the school sees as its next steps for student growth.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 38% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 419%

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

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 23% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 23% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 36% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 43% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 46% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 48% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 29% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 31% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 19 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.