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Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1789th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools
Better than 13% of Illinois elementary schools
Summary

Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy is a public elementary school serving 550 students in grades PK-8 in Chicago, Illinois, which is part of the Chicago Public Schools District 299. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 15% of Illinois elementary schools over the past decade, with significant underperformance in academic proficiency, particularly in Mathematics.

Powell Elementary's academic performance is well below the district and state averages, with only 30% of students proficient in English Language Arts and just 7.9% proficient in Mathematics in the 2024-2025 school year. The school's performance is especially low in Mathematics, with proficiency rates ranging from 3.2% to 15.2% across grade levels, compared to the district's 23.4% to 37.9% and the state's 32.7% to 49.6%. Additionally, the school has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching as high as 45% in the 2022-2023 school year, significantly above the district and state averages.

While the school's performance is concerning overall, it is particularly troubling for certain student subgroups, such as students with disabilities and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who rank in the bottom 25% of Illinois elementary schools. In contrast, nearby schools like Parkside Elementary Community Academy and Bouchet Elementary Math & Science Academy generally perform better than Powell Elementary across various metrics, including academic proficiency and chronic absenteeism. The charter school, Great Lakes Academy Charter Elementary School, located within the same district, also significantly outperforms Powell Elementary and the district as a whole.

542
Students ?
12.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,460
Per pupil spending ?
88.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 7511 S South Shore Dr
       Chicago, IL  60649-4305

(773) 535-6650

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299


Students who attend Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy usually attend:

High:    Chicago Vocational Career Academy High School
    South Shore International Col Prep High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
88.4%
Hispanic:
10.5%
White:
0.6%
more
 See top rated Illinois elementary schools

 Compare Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2015 → 13th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Illinois average (17% vs 44% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 25% Illinois)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school17%
District avg33%
Illinois avg44%
Elementary school
1,789th of 2,056
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Bottom 13%▼ down 32 pts since 2015
From bottom 45% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,188th of 1,368
Illinois public middle schools ?
Bottom 13%▼ down 47 pts since 2015
From top 40% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
312th of 451Elementary Schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299
698th of 811Chicago Public Schools District 299 among Illinois districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202514.81789 of 205613.0%★☆☆☆☆
202411.51993 of 20673.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202313.31934 of 20776.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.41846 of 208211.3%★☆☆☆☆
202122.61485 of 194823.8%★☆☆☆☆
201913.11928 of 20867.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.31747 of 203714.2%★☆☆☆☆
201715.51809 of 204411.5%★☆☆☆☆
201619.61707 of 204616.6%★☆☆☆☆
201539.61133 of 205244.8%★★☆☆☆
201457.5932 of 209355.5%★★★☆☆
201358.8972 of 216755.1%★★★☆☆
201234.71597 of 216626.3%★☆☆☆☆
201131.41619 of 214724.6%★☆☆☆☆
201025.81718 of 213919.7%★☆☆☆☆
200920.81787 of 212015.7%★☆☆☆☆
200812.11889 of 20929.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20075.71973 of 20955.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20067.41941 of 20867.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200519.91731 of 202214.4%★☆☆☆☆
200410.21825 of 203010.1%★☆☆☆☆
20034.61894 of 20206.2%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202537.9414 of 68839.8%★★☆☆☆
202427.1538 of 65517.9%★☆☆☆☆
202332.4485 of 69229.9%★★☆☆☆
202235.7415 of 68439.3%★★☆☆☆
202155.5107 of 42875.0%★★★★☆
201935.4452 of 71136.4%★★☆☆☆
201841.3348 of 69850.1%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202420.0834 of 8865.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202520.11585 of 194218.4%★☆☆☆☆
202413.41819 of 19426.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.41860 of 19575.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.81745 of 197011.4%★☆☆☆☆
202113.11578 of 16806.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201913.01872 of 20197.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.71650 of 196416.0%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202520.51552 of 180013.8%★☆☆☆☆
202416.21708 of 17934.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.21679 of 18087.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202222.71489 of 176315.5%★☆☆☆☆
202139.8861 of 151443.1%★★☆☆☆
201919.81644 of 18169.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201827.61378 of 176521.9%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202510.71823 of 19476.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.01907 of 19592.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.31738 of 198412.4%★☆☆☆☆
202216.51744 of 197711.8%★☆☆☆☆
202124.31282 of 170724.9%★☆☆☆☆
201915.01834 of 20199.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.41729 of 197212.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202520.91076 of 129216.7%★☆☆☆☆
202419.21093 of 11958.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202323.9943 of 115618.4%★☆☆☆☆
202221.01063 of 11134.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201823.9637 of 76316.5%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202516.31188 of 136813.2%★☆☆☆☆
202410.61326 of 13632.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.71144 of 136716.3%★☆☆☆☆
202220.71089 of 136920.5%★☆☆☆☆
202121.4999 of 124119.5%★☆☆☆☆
201921.21090 of 135619.6%★☆☆☆☆
201820.91037 of 129319.8%★☆☆☆☆
201720.31054 of 129318.5%★☆☆☆☆
201625.2998 of 129422.9%★☆☆☆☆
201552.6515 of 130260.4%★★★☆☆
201464.0462 of 132265.1%★★★☆☆
201346.1759 of 136744.5%★★☆☆☆
201243.8889 of 136534.9%★★☆☆☆
201153.7729 of 134445.8%★★☆☆☆
201044.6863 of 132735.0%★★☆☆☆
200939.5919 of 131830.3%★★☆☆☆
200821.51074 of 129316.9%★☆☆☆☆
200711.51148 of 128710.8%★☆☆☆☆
200612.91114 of 127212.4%★☆☆☆☆
20059.11075 of 120911.1%★☆☆☆☆
200420.4961 of 120420.2%★☆☆☆☆
200336.0807 of 118531.9%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202540.3310 of 57446.0%★★☆☆☆
202423.2474 of 54813.5%★☆☆☆☆
202343.5280 of 56950.8%★★★☆☆
202247.0230 of 57359.9%★★★☆☆
202151.2127 of 38567.0%★★★☆☆
201950.9212 of 56562.5%★★★☆☆
201849.0201 of 51160.7%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202521.3633 of 6948.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.6595 of 6396.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202323.3603 of 67410.5%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202515.21088 of 124812.8%★☆☆☆☆
20248.41241 of 12510.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.11140 of 127510.6%★☆☆☆☆
202220.91035 of 128619.5%★☆☆☆☆
201920.31040 of 127618.5%★☆☆☆☆
201817.41047 of 122614.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202522.21021 of 122916.9%★☆☆☆☆
202413.41175 of 12193.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202324.6997 of 123419.2%★☆☆☆☆
202229.4898 of 122126.5%★☆☆☆☆
202135.9644 of 101936.8%★★☆☆☆
201932.8854 of 121729.8%★★☆☆☆
201831.9820 of 116129.4%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202519.91036 of 127118.5%★☆☆☆☆
202413.81180 of 12646.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202324.7971 of 129224.8%★☆☆☆☆
202222.4993 of 128622.8%★☆☆☆☆
201923.6995 of 129623.2%★☆☆☆☆
201825.4912 of 122325.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202517.8746 of 8128.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.8787 of 8021.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202319.5759 of 8055.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201824.7551 of 6028.5%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
African American (2025)40th percentile+27 vs school
Female (2025)18th percentile+5 vs school
Special Education (2025)17th percentile+4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile~ school
Male (2025)6th percentile-7 vs school
Disabled (2024)6th percentile~ school
Middle school
African American (2025)46th percentile+33 vs school
Male (2025)18th percentile+5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)17th percentile+4 vs school
Female (2025)13th percentile~ school
Disabled (2025)9th percentile-4 vs school
Special Education (2025)8th percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts30%-23 vs state
Science14%-29 vs state
Mathematics8%-31 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy

Students at Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy are 88% African American, 11% Hispanic.

Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy ranks in the bottom 13.0% of Illinois elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 542 students attended Powell Elementary Paideia Community Academy.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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