The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Little Fort Elem School
Little Fort Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Waukegan Community Unit School District 60. The enrollment sits at roughly 400 students, distributed across six grades with somewhat larger cohorts in third and fourth grade. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial shares of Black students and smaller numbers from other backgrounds. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available, and the school's special population counts (students with IEPs, English learners) were not reported.
On Illinois Assessment of Readiness tests in math and English language arts, proficiency rates across the tested grades (third through fifth) fall below the midpoint among other districts in Lake County. In third grade, math proficiency stood at roughly two-fifths and ELA at roughly two-fifths. Fourth grade showed somewhat stronger performance in both subjects, with math near one-half and ELA also near one-half. Fifth grade showed lower performance, with math and ELA both in the low-to-mid range. Science testing in fifth grade showed proficiency around one-third. The state made scoring adjustments for the 2024-25 school year that affect comparability to prior years, so trend data are not available. A parent may want to look into what support the school offers to strengthen proficiency in these core subjects and what diagnostic work is underway to understand where gaps exist.
The school sits in Waukegan, a mid-sized industrial port city on Lake Michigan, about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago and the county seat of Lake County. The city blends downtown historic blocks with manufacturing districts, working-class residential neighborhoods, and lakefront land. Waukegan has been pursuing downtown and waterfront revitalization for more than a decade, with approximately 25 acres of vacant downtown land and 80 acres in the South Lakefront district available for development. The downtown includes a public library, art galleries, and the Genesee Theatre, anchoring monthly art walks. The lakefront features the harbor, municipal beach, and concert pavilion. Outside the downtown, the city is more suburban in character. The Waukegan Metra station connects the area to Chicago and other points on the Union Pacific North line, with multiple Pace bus routes serving neighborhoods and regional destinations.
The district itself is in transition. The high school operates on two campuses with different grade bands, and the district is reshaping that configuration, a change that affects every family with secondary-age students. In 2021 the board renamed two middle schools, altering the identity students encounter. The district has also expanded teacher recruitment to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and HBCUs to fill staffing gaps, signaling ongoing teacher-shortage pressures that affect classroom stability.
Housing values in the area are moderate, with a home value close to a mid-range benchmark and monthly rent in the low-to-mid range. The housing market shows modest activity with inventory moving modestly and prices climbing slowly year over year. The area's major employers include Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Takeda, Naval Station Great Lakes, and Rosalind Franklin University, alongside local manufacturers and the Lake County government. Median household income is in the mid-range nationally, with unemployment holding at moderate levels.
This is an elementary school serving a predominantly working-class and immigrant community in a city with real economic activity and civic anchors but also ongoing structural transitions. The school's academic performance suggests families should engage directly with staff about instruction, assessment practices, and the specific supports available to students working below grade-level benchmarks.
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