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Matteson, Illinois - 5 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Esd 159 #368 of 763 districts in Illinois (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $21,734 per pupil, Esd 159 ranks #125 of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending (Illinois districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,679
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$21,734
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Esd 159 operates 5 public schools serving 1,679 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Illinois. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 2 elementary, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Cook County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $21,734 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending. See how Illinois compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 61.8% local, 28.2% state, and 10.0% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 39/100, ranked #368 of 763 in Illinois against a state average of 38, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 421.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 29.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 79.1% African American, 14.8% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sieden Prairie Elementary School, with a diversity index of 57.4/100.
Its largest campus is Colin Powell Middle Sch, enrolling 564 students (34% of the district's total enrollment).
Colin Powell Middle Sch accounts for 33.6% of all Esd 159 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Esd 159-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Esd 159 school enrollment varies 2.2× across entities
Esd 159 school enrollment ranges from 260 students (lowest) to 564 students (highest), a spread of 304 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Esd 159 student-counselor ratio is 422:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Esd 159 chronic absenteeism rate is 29.6% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Esd 159 is typically wider than the Esd 159-aggregate figure suggests.