Enrollment
247
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Chicago, IL
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus
Federal NCES profile for Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 20/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 170993006461Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- #118 of 130
- high schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 20
- Resource Index · Lower
- 30.9:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 247
- students enrolled
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus has class sizes larger than 99% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus ranks #118 of 130 high schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993006461 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
30.9:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+121% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational constraint
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus's enrollment sits away from the most extreme size bands, but its reported student-teacher ratio is heavier than most Illinois schools. That isolates staffing load as a more useful concern than raw campus size. A high ratio does not establish weak teaching or outcomes, yet it can indicate less adult capacity per enrolled student. The remaining federal indicators show whether support staffing and program access offset that pressure.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus's 53.0% 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.
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus is a mid-sized charter high school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 247 students.
Class loads run heavy: 30.9:1 is larger than about 99% of Illinois schools and 121% above the 14:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 247 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 96% of the 3,845 Illinois schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly African American (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 6/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 247 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 53.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding City of Chicago Sd 299 spends $22,699 per pupil, 25% 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 high schools, it stands alongside Curie Metropolitan High School (3,099 students): Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (30.9:1 vs 16.1:1).
City of Chicago Sd 299 also operates Lane Technical High School (4,604 students) and Taft High School (4,487 students) alongside Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus.
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 Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus compares
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 30.9:1 | ▲ 121% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 247 | top 74% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
30.9:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
247
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
30.9:1
students per teacher
- 121% above state mean
Top 99% in Illinois - lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
53.0%
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
$22,699
per pupil, district-wide
- above Illinois avg of $18,196
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 247 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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.
Student demographics
African American 97.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.4%
Two or More 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 97.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.5, Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for City of Chicago Sd 299, which includes Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus.
$22,699
Per student
+25%
vs Illinois
Avg $18,196
+29%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 52.8%
State 29.9%
Federal 17.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Technical High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Taft High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Curie Metropolitan High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Kenwood Academy High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Young Magnet High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus'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 high schools in Chicago
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Curie Metropolitan High School
Standard public school
3,099 students 16.1:1 students per teacher
Lincoln Park High School
Standard public school
2,214 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Jones College Prep High School
Standard public school
1,954 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Mather High School
Standard public school
1,777 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Thomas Kelly College Preparatory
Standard public school
1,762 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Hubbard High School
Standard public school
1,710 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Similar high 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 (~247 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~30.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus's federal record.
- Compare Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus 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 Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus
How many students attend Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus?
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus has 247 students enrolled. It is a high school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus?
The student-teacher ratio at Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus is 30.9:1, which is 121% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 97% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus?
The largest demographic group at Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus is African American at 97.2% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus?
Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (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 Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus rank among high schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus ranks #118 of 130 high 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 high schools in Chicago on the city page.
What other schools are in City of Chicago Sd 299?
Besides Cics - Ralph Ellison Campus, 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.