Other / mixed grade configuration · Homewood, IL

Willow School

Federal NCES profile for Willow School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 171953002231
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
52
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
44
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Willow School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Illinois schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.

#1 of 3
public schools in Homewood · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
12.1:1
small classes for Illinois
603
students enrolled

Willow School has class sizes smaller than 70% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Willow School ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Homewood, IL.

School address

Enrollment

603

Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

50.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.1:1

vs 14:1 Illinois avg

-14% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Willow School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians

At or below state median
0:135:112.1:1

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

What stands out at Willow School

Willow School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Homewood, Illinois, enrolling 603 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.

Enrollment of 603 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,845 scored Illinois schools.

Its student body is led by African American (52%) and White (22%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 65/100).

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Homewood Sd 153 also operates James Hart School (681 students) and Winston Churchill School (572 students) alongside Willow School.

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 Willow School compares

Willow School on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Illinois Illinois avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.1:1 ▼ 14% 14:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 603 top 21% - -

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

12.1:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
603
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher - 14% below state mean
Top 30% in Illinois - lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,732
per pupil, district-wide - below Illinois avg of $17,042
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

African American 51.9%
White 21.7%
Hispanic or Latino 16.4%
Two or More 9.5%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 51.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 64.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 64.8, Willow School is more mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Homewood Sd 153, which includes Willow School.

$16,732
Per student
-2%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 52.2%
State 42.0%
Federal 5.8%

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 Willow School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
James Hart School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Winston Churchill School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Willow School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Homewood Sd 153 · 2 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other 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 Willow School'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 Willow School

How many students attend Willow School?

Willow School has 603 students enrolled. It is a public school in Homewood, IL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Willow School?

The student-teacher ratio at Willow School is 12.1:1, which is 14% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 23% 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 Willow School?

The largest demographic group at Willow School is African American at 51.9% of enrollment, in Homewood, IL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 64.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Willow School?

Willow School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical 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 Willow School rank among public schools in Homewood?

By Resource Investment Index, Willow School ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Homewood, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Homewood on the city page.

Is Willow School a good school?

Willow School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Illinois schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Homewood Sd 153?

Besides Willow School, Homewood Sd 153 also operates James Hart School (681 students) and Winston Churchill School (572 students). See the Homewood Sd 153 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.