NCES CCD 2024-25 9 schools IL

Best-Resourced Schools in Ottawa, IL

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

9 public K-12 schools in Ottawa from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

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Schools

3,504

Students

42.7/100

Avg Resource Index

11.5:1

Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Middle-of-corpus city profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Ottawa has more public-school enrollment than 36% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Ottawa sits in the broad middle of the national city distribution rather than at a single obvious extreme. Its scale, average Resource Investment Index, and staffing position need to be read together: a middle placement on one measure does not cancel a stronger or weaker result on another. The percentile panel makes those dimensions explicit, and the school table shows where the city aggregate breaks into materially different campus profiles.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

6 of Ottawa's 9 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

A small portfolio contains radically different campus scales

Ottawa lists only 9 schools, yet reported enrollment runs from 44 to 1,223 students, a 28-fold range. In a portfolio this compact, the smallest record may be a specialized or nonstandard setting rather than a miniature version of the largest campus. That distinction affects how ratios and program fields should be read. Compare similarly configured grade levels first; combining the extremes into one city average conceals more than it explains.

City enrollment: Top 64%
School count: Top 46%
Resource Index average: 59th percentile
Teacher staffing: 92nd percentile

Ottawa Township High School accounts for 34.9% of all Ottawa public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Ottawa-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-08-26

Ottawa school enrollment varies 28× across entities

Ottawa school enrollment ranges from 44 students (lowest) to 1,223 students (highest), a spread of 1,179 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-08-26

Ottawa operates 5 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country

Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-08-26

Ottawa student-teacher ratio is 11.5:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe Accessed 2026-08-26

#	School	Score	Enrollment	Level	District
1.	Rutland Elem School	53	70	Combined	Rutland Ccsd 230
2.	Shepherd Middle School	47	353	middle	Ottawa Esd 141
3.	Deer Park C C Elem School	46	44	Combined	Deer Park Ccsd 82
4.	Mckinley Elem School	44	364	Combined	Ottawa Esd 141
5.	Lincoln Elem School	43	387	Combined	Ottawa Esd 141
6.	Central Intermediate School	43	339	elementary	Ottawa Esd 141
7.	Jefferson Elem School	41	304	Combined	Ottawa Esd 141
8.	Wallace Elem School	35	420	Combined	Wallace Ccsd 195
9.	Ottawa Township High School	32	1,223	high	Ottawa Twp Hsd 140

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Ottawa

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

What do families ask about schools in Ottawa?

Which Ottawa school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Rutland Elem School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Ottawa schools in this federal-data comparison at 53/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Ottawa, IL? ▼

Ottawa has 9 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,504 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 11.5:1.

Other Cities in Illinois

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Illinois →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.