Elementary school (grades K-5) · Lake Forest, IL

Deer Path Middle Sch East

Federal NCES profile for Deer Path Middle Sch East, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 172175005830
0/100100/10058/100
👥 S:T ratio
57
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Deer Path Middle Sch East earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Illinois schools.

#1 of 4
elementary schools in Lake Forest · Resource Index
58
Resource Index · Higher
10.7:1
small classes for Illinois
375
students enrolled

Deer Path Middle Sch East has class sizes smaller than 85% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Deer Path Middle Sch East ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Lake Forest, IL.

School address

Enrollment

375

Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

35.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

10.7:1

vs 14:1 Illinois avg

-24% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Deer Path Middle Sch East compares with Illinois and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Deer Path Middle Sch East

Deer Path Middle Sch East is a mid-sized elementary school in Lake Forest, Illinois, enrolling 375 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 10.7:1, Deer Path Middle Sch East is leaner than roughly 85% of Illinois schools and 24% under the state's 14:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

With 375 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 92% of the 3,845 Illinois schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Its student body is predominantly White (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).

Attendance holds up well here: only 5.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

The surrounding Lake Forest Sd 67 spends $30,179 per pupil, 77% above the Illinois average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Lake Forest's elementary schools, it stands alongside Cherokee Elem School (343 students): Deer Path Middle Sch East is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.7:1 vs 10.1:1).

Lake Forest Sd 67 also operates Deer Path Middle Sch West (361 students) and Cherokee Elem School (343 students) alongside Deer Path Middle Sch East.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Deer Path Middle Sch East compares

Deer Path Middle Sch East on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Illinois Illinois avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 10.7:1 ▼ 24% 14:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 375 top 49% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
375
Bigger than 44% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher - 24% below state mean
Top 15% in Illinois - lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
5.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$30,179
per pupil, district-wide - above Illinois avg of $17,042
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 84.3%
Two or More 6.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.5%
Asian 3.2%
African American 1.1%

Largest group: White at 84.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 28.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 28.1, Deer Path Middle Sch East is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lake Forest Sd 67, which includes Deer Path Middle Sch East.

$30,179
Per student
+77%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+82%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 73.0%
State 23.8%
Federal 3.2%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Deer Path Middle Sch East Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Deer Path Middle Sch West Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Cherokee Elem School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Everett Elem School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Sheridan Elem School Smaller No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Deer Path Middle Sch East's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Lake Forest Sd 67 · 4 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Lake Forest

3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Deer Path Middle Sch East's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Deer Path Middle Sch East

How many students attend Deer Path Middle Sch East?

Deer Path Middle Sch East has 375 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Lake Forest, IL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Deer Path Middle Sch East?

The student-teacher ratio at Deer Path Middle Sch East is 10.7:1, which is 24% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 32% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Deer Path Middle Sch East?

The largest demographic group at Deer Path Middle Sch East is White at 84.3% of enrollment, in Lake Forest, IL.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Deer Path Middle Sch East?

Deer Path Middle Sch East has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Deer Path Middle Sch East rank among elementary schools in Lake Forest?

By Resource Investment Index, Deer Path Middle Sch East ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Lake Forest, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Lake Forest on the city page.

Is Deer Path Middle Sch East a good school?

Deer Path Middle Sch East earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Illinois schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Lake Forest Sd 67?

Besides Deer Path Middle Sch East, Lake Forest Sd 67 also operates Deer Path Middle Sch West (361 students), Cherokee Elem School (343 students), and Everett Elem School (308 students). See the Lake Forest Sd 67 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.