Enrollment
176
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chicago, IL
Cullen Elem School
Federal NCES profile for Cullen Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 170993001194
👥 S:T ratio 41
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cullen Elem School earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- #32 of 102
- elementary schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.7:1
- students per teacher
- 176
- students enrolled
Cullen Elem School has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cullen Elem School ranks #32 of 102 elementary schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993001194 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cullen Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cullen Elem School
Small campus without a staffing-size advantage
Cullen Elem School enrolls fewer students than most Illinois schools, yet its student-teacher ratio is still on the heavier side of the state distribution. Small enrollment therefore does not translate into more teacher capacity per student here. That makes staffing capacity, rather than campus scale alone, the useful interpretation. The counselor, attendance, and program indicators below help show whether the pressure is narrow or part of a broader resource constraint.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Cullen Elem School's 50.6% 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.
Cullen Elem School is a small elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 176 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14.7:1 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 176 puts it in the smaller 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 African American (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 176 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 50.6% 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): Cullen Elem School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.7:1 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 Cullen 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 Cullen Elem School compares
Cullen 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 | 14.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 176 | top 85% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.7:1
Leaner classes than 50% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
176
Bigger than 17% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 66% in Illinois - lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
50.6%
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 176 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
African American 96.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.4%
White 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 96.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.7, Cullen 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 Cullen Elem School.
$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 Cullen 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 | Similar 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 Cullen 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 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 (~176 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cullen Elem School's federal record.
- Compare Cullen 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 Cullen Elem School
How many students attend Cullen Elem School?
Cullen Elem School has 176 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cullen Elem School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cullen Elem School is 14.7:1, which is 5% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 6% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cullen Elem School?
The largest demographic group at Cullen Elem School is African American at 96.0% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cullen Elem School?
Cullen Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical 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 Cullen Elem School rank among elementary schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Cullen Elem School ranks #32 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 Cullen 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.