District Profile
Oglesby, Illinois is located in LaSalle County. It is approximately 50 miles west of Joliet. The community of Oglesby is located approximately 4 miles south of the interchange of Interstate 80 and Interstate 39.
Oglesby has a population of approximately 3,650 people. It has an elementary school district, Oglesby Public Schools, District #125. It services children from preschool age through grade five at Lincoln School and grades six through eight at Washington School. Oglesby students then feed into LaSalle-Peru Township High School along with students from approximately 12 other elementary schools in the area.
Oglesby is 98.1% Caucasian, 0.4% Black, 0.1% American Indian or Native Alaskan, 0.3% Asian, and 2.8% Hispanic. 9.5% of the families are below poverty level. The median age is 40.2 years old, the average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 2.88.
The community itself is experiencing growth. New industry is moving into the area and new housing developments are sprouting in different parts of the school district. The city is working hard to draw new business into the community and is working with the school district to solve problems associated with this growth. The city and school system have developed a good partnership which will help to provide the needed services to a growing community.
School District #125 was established in the year 1869. One of the first schools was a one room wooden building built on the southeast corner of the present school site. Two additional rooms were added in 1888. Plans were made in 1907 for an additional 24 room building; 6 rooms were built in 1908 and four additional room were built in 1910. During the year 1915, the balance of Washington School was completed. This school survived until student enrollment forced another addition due to consolidation from local, smaller schools.
A school building was built in the Chicago Cement Company yard to meet the influx of new children of parents who had come to work at the plant in the year 1889. This new school was called the Cement School and stayed in operation until 1907 when it was declared unfit for school purposes because of the great amount of dust penetrating through the building. The Cement School was the first of many consolidations for the Oglesby School district. In the late 1890's, a one room building was built in the Deer Park location to accommodate the children of the parents who were employed in the Black Hollow Mine. The one room building was abandoned in 1936 and students consolidated with Oglesby.
In 1958 the "new" Lincoln School on Bennett Avenue was built to accommodate children kindergarten through 2nd grade. A new addition was built on to Washington School to accommodate a growing number of children. Washington housed 3rd through 8th grade as well as the District Offices. It was also in 1958 that nearby schools in Jonesville and Crocketsville were abandoned, sold, and consolidated into Oglesby District #125. The next consolidation that took place was with Cedar Point School in 1995.
In 2000 a large construction process was completed. The construction project more than doubled the classroom number in Lincoln School and added a complete gymnasium allowing the other gymnasium/cafeteria be used primarily as a cafeteria. It was also in 2000 where Lincoln became the District Office as well as a complete revamping of grade levels per schoolhouse.
The student population of District #125 comes from a fairly large geographic area. The bulk of the student population resides in the community of Oglesby. The District also serves children from the communities of Cedar Point, Piety Hill, Lynwood, and the rural area surrounding the city of Oglesby. Oglesby Public School District #125, currently has an enrollment of approximately 615 students and consists of two buildings. Lincoln School is located at 755 Bennett Avenue and houses Preschool through grade 5 while Washington School is located at 212 W. Walnut Street and houses students in grades 6 through 8. The preschool program is a free program that allows students from surrounding communities including Lostant, Deer Park, Tonica, and Utica to attend. Oglesby School provides a well-rounded education including music, physical education and computers as well as many opportunities for extra-curricular activities. The district superintendent is Mr. Michael J. Pillion and the district principal is Mrs. Cindy Pozzi.
