Enrollment
718
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Chicago, IL
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy
Federal NCES profile for Columbia Explorers Elem Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 170993004277
👥 S:T ratio 45
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- #211 of 394
- schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 13.8:1
- students per teacher
- 718
- students enrolled
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Columbia Explorers Elem Academy ranks #211 of 394 schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993004277 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
52.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbia Explorers Elem Academy compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Columbia Explorers Elem Academy
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy 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.
Counselor caseload is the clearest capacity constraint
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy reports roughly 718 students for each counselor, well beyond the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark. Unlike total teacher staffing, that measure speaks specifically to academic planning, crisis response, and student guidance; a middle-range Resource Investment Index can conceal the bottleneck. The ratio is calculated from federal full-time-equivalent staffing and does not show how the district shares counselors across buildings or schedules their time.
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy is a large combined-grade school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 718 students.
At 13.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Illinois median, within a few percentage points of the 14:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Enrollment of 718 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 (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 6/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 718 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights 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 public schools, it stands alongside Lane Technical High School (4,604 students): Columbia Explorers Elem Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.8:1 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy.
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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy compares
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.8:1 | ▼ 1% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 718 | top 13% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.8:1
Leaner classes than 59% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
718
Bigger than 81% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 53% in Illinois - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.0%
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 718 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 96.8%
White 1.3%
African American 0.8%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Two or More 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 6.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 6.3, Columbia Explorers Elem Academy 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy.
$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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy'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 (~718 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Columbia Explorers Elem Academy's federal record.
- Compare Columbia Explorers Elem Academy 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy
How many students attend Columbia Explorers Elem Academy?
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy has 718 students enrolled. It is a public school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbia Explorers Elem Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbia Explorers Elem Academy is 13.8:1, which is 1% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 12% 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy?
The largest demographic group at Columbia Explorers Elem Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 96.8% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbia Explorers Elem Academy?
Columbia Explorers Elem Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy rank among schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Columbia Explorers Elem Academy ranks #211 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 Columbia Explorers Elem Academy, 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.