Enrollment
321
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Chicago, IL
Cather Elem School
Federal NCES profile for Cather Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 170993000656
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cather Elem School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 77% of Illinois schools.
- #194 of 394
- schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Illinois
- 321
- students enrolled
Cather Elem School has class sizes smaller than 77% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cather Elem School ranks #194 of 394 schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993000656 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cather Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cather Elem School
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Cather Elem School is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Illinois schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Cather Elem School's 54.8% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Cather Elem School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 321 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 321 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is predominantly African American (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 321 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 54.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding City of Chicago Sd 299 spends $21,050 per pupil, 24% above the Illinois average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 17.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Chicago's public schools, it stands alongside Lane Technical High School (4,604 students): Cather Elem School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.5:1 vs 17.8:1).
City of Chicago Sd 299 also operates Lane Technical High School (4,604 students) and Taft High School (4,487 students) alongside Cather Elem 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 Cather Elem School compares
Cather Elem 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 | 11.5:1 | ▼ 18% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 321 | top 59% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
321
Bigger than 35% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 23% in Illinois - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
54.8%
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
$21,050
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 321 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
African American 90.3%
Hispanic or Latino 8.1%
White 0.9%
Two or More 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 90.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.8, Cather Elem School is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for City of Chicago Sd 299, which includes Cather Elem School.
$21,050
Per student
+24%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 52.8%
State 29.9%
Federal 17.4%
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 Cather Elem School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Technical High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Taft High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Curie Metropolitan High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kenwood Academy High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Young Magnet High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cather Elem School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,604
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 4,487
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 3,099
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 2,268
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 2,223
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other schools in Chicago
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Lane Technical High School
Standard public school
4,604 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Taft High School
Standard public school
4,487 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Kenwood Academy High School
Standard public school
2,268 students 18.6:1 students per teacher
Young Magnet High School
Standard public school
2,223 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Disney Elem Magnet School
Standard public school
1,384 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
Morgan Park High School
Standard public school
1,349 students 19:1 students per teacher
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.
Similar enrollment (~321 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cather Elem School's federal record.
- Compare Cather Elem School against another school. Compare schools
- City of Chicago Sd 299's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Cather Elem School
How many students attend Cather Elem School?
Cather Elem School has 321 students enrolled. It is a public school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cather Elem School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cather Elem School is 11.5:1, which is 18% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 27% 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 Cather Elem School?
The largest demographic group at Cather Elem School is African American at 90.3% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cather Elem School?
Cather Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Cather Elem School rank among schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Cather Elem School ranks #194 of 394 schools in Chicago, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Chicago on the city page.
What other schools are in City of Chicago Sd 299?
Besides Cather Elem School, City of Chicago Sd 299 also operates Lane Technical High School (4,604 students), Taft High School (4,487 students), and Curie Metropolitan High School (3,099 students). See the City of Chicago Sd 299 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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 July 2026.