Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary
Public elementary school, kindergarten to grade 5 · Naperville, Illinois
Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary in Naperville, Illinois enrolled 589 students in 2024-25 with 40.5 full-time teachers, 14.5 students per teacher against the Illinois elementary-school median of 13.1. It ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22; it takes part in the National School Lunch Program (2024-25). On the state tests, 42% of its students tested were proficient in reading in 2021-22 and 40% proficient in math in 2022-23 (Illinois: 29.9% and 26.6%).
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method
Enrollment rose 7% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 8%
548 students in 2022-23, 564 students in 2023-24, 589 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 43.8 to 40.5.
The numbers as a table
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 548 | 43.8 | 12.5 |
| 2023-24 | 564 | 43.6 | 12.9 |
| 2024-25 | 589 | 40.5 | 14.5 |
14.5 students per teacher, a higher ratio than 72 of every 100 Illinois elementary schools
Among the 2,300 Illinois elementary schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 13.1; the national median for elementary schools is 14.6. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).
Programs and staff in 2021-22
In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary enrolled 590 students and reported no counselor; it reported 1 out-of-school suspensions that year.
- Advanced Placement coursesNone
- Gifted and talented programYes
- Counselors (FTE)0.0
- Out-of-school suspensions1
- Chronically absent23.9% (2022-23)
Who attends
41.1% of students were Asian, 23.6% White, 17.7% Hispanic in 2024-25.
- Asian41.1%
- White23.6%
- Hispanic17.7%
- Black12.6%
- Two or more races4.4%
- American Indian0.7%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.
State test results, 2021-22 and 2022-23
The students tested at Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary scored proficient or above: 42% in reading in 2021-22 and 40% in math in 2022-23, against 29.9% in reading in 2021-22 and 26.6% in math in 2022-23 across Illinois. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Illinois, not across states.
| Subject and year | This school | Its district | Illinois |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts, 2021-22 | 42% | 50% | 29.9% |
| Math, 2022-23 | 40% | not published | 26.6% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22 and 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express (2021-22 through the Data Rescue Project archive); for 2022-23 ED published math by school and reading only by state: ED shows school and district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
Elementary schools in Naperville
28 public elementary schools in Naperville report 2024-25 enrollment; Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary is number 6 by size.
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmwood Elementary School | 726 | 15.2 | not reported |
| May Watts Elementary School | 668 | 15.8 | not reported |
| Steeple Run Elementary School | 622 | 13.1 | not reported |
| Beebe Elementary School | 619 | 14.6 | not reported |
| Mill Street Elementary School | 600 | 12.5 | not reported |
| Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary | 589 | 14.5 | not reported |
| Ranch View Elementary School | 584 | 14.3 | not reported |
| Owen Elementary School | 577 | 15.3 | not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.
What to look at next about Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary
- May Watts Elementary SchoolThe nearest public elementary school, 0.9 miles away: 668 students, 15.8 per teacher (2024-25).0.9 mi
- Owen Elementary SchoolThe next nearest public elementary school, 2.3 miles away: 577 students, 15.3 per teacher (2024-25).2.3 mi
- Compare Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary with May Watts Elementary SchoolStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
- How much Indian Prairie School District #204 spends per student$18,127 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$18,127
- The largest public schools in IllinoisMary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary is the number 294 by size of 2,314 Illinois elementary schools open in 2024-25.#294 of 2,314
- Illinois schools by students per teacher14.5 students per teacher here against the Illinois median of 13.1 for elementary schools.14.5:1
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.
Questions about Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary
How many students attend Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary?
589 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 548 in 2022-23. It is an elementary school in Naperville, IL.What is the student-teacher ratio at Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary?
14.5 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the Illinois median for elementary schools is 13.1. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.Is Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary a Title I school?
Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, the last year NCES published school Title I status.How do students at Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary do on state tests?
The students tested at Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary scored proficient or above: 42% in reading in 2021-22 and 40% in math in 2022-23, against 29.9% in reading in 2021-22 and 26.6% in math in 2022-23 across Illinois. Illinois's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23; ED publishes school results as ranges to protect small groups.What district is Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary in?
Indian Prairie School District #204, NCES district ID 1741690. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 174169002094 are the district's.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23: reading and math proficiency for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22
District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.