Enrollment
520
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chicago, IL
Cics - West Belden Campus
Federal NCES profile for Cics - West Belden Campus, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 25/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 170993006475Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 17
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cics - West Belden Campus earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Illinois schools.
- #69 of 102
- elementary schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 25
- Resource Index · Lower
- 17.9:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 520
- students enrolled
Cics - West Belden Campus has class sizes larger than 91% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cics - West Belden Campus ranks #69 of 102 elementary schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993006475 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.9:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cics - West Belden Campus compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cics - West Belden Campus
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational constraint
Cics - West Belden 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 - West Belden Campus's 33.1% 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 - West Belden Campus is a mid-sized charter elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 520 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.9:1 is larger than about 91% of Illinois schools and 28% above the 14:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 520 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.1% 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 elementary schools, it stands alongside Mount Greenwood Elem School (1,182 students): Cics - West Belden Campus is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.9:1 vs 18.5:1).
City of Chicago Sd 299 also operates Lane Technical High School (4,604 students) and Taft High School (4,487 students) alongside Cics - West Belden 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 - West Belden Campus compares
Cics - West Belden 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 | 17.9:1 | ▲ 28% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 520 | top 28% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.9:1
Leaner classes than 25% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
520
Bigger than 64% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
17.9:1
students per teacher
- 28% above state mean
Top 91% in Illinois - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.1%
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 90.8%
African American 7.3%
Two or More 1.2%
White 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 90.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.0, Cics - West Belden Campus 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 Cics - West Belden 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 - West Belden Campus Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Technical High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Taft High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar 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 | Similar S:T ratio |
| Young Magnet High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cics - West Belden 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 elementary schools in Chicago
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Mount Greenwood Elem School
Standard public school
1,182 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Eberhart Elem School
Standard public school
1,011 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Kipp One Academy
Standard public school
996 students 10.9:1 students per teacher
Lyon Elem School
Standard public school
988 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Kipp Chicago Chrtrs Bloom Campus
Standard public school
921 students 11.2:1 students per teacher
Bell Elem School
Standard public school
902 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary 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 (~520 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cics - West Belden Campus's federal record.
- Compare Cics - West Belden 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 - West Belden Campus
How many students attend Cics - West Belden Campus?
Cics - West Belden Campus has 520 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cics - West Belden Campus?
The student-teacher ratio at Cics - West Belden Campus is 17.9:1, which is 28% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cics - West Belden Campus?
The largest demographic group at Cics - West Belden Campus is Hispanic or Latino at 90.8% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cics - West Belden Campus?
Cics - West Belden Campus has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Cics - West Belden Campus rank among elementary schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Cics - West Belden Campus ranks #69 of 102 elementary 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 elementary schools in Chicago on the city page.
What other schools are in City of Chicago Sd 299?
Besides Cics - West Belden 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.