Enrollment
355
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Chicago, IL
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs
Federal NCES profile for Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 170993000588
👥 S:T ratio 60
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 65
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 91% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- #6 of 130
- high schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.9:1
- small classes for Illinois
- 355
- students enrolled
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs has class sizes smaller than 91% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs ranks #6 of 130 high schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993000588 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.9:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs is a mid-sized high school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 355 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.9:1, Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs is leaner than roughly 91% of Illinois schools and 29% under the state's 14:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
With 355 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper 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).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 178 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
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.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Chicago's high schools, it stands alongside Curie Metropolitan High School (3,099 students): Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.9:1 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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs.
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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs compares
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.9:1 | ▼ 29% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 355 | top 53% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.9:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
355
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.9:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 9% in Illinois - lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 178 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
African American 96.1%
Hispanic or Latino 2.8%
White 0.6%
Asian 0.3%
Two or More 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 96.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.6, Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs 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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs.
$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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs 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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs'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 (~355 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs's federal record.
- Compare Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs 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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs
How many students attend Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs?
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs has 355 students enrolled. It is a high school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs is 9.9:1, which is 29% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 37% 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 Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs?
The largest demographic group at Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs is African American at 96.1% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs?
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs rank among high schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs ranks #6 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.
Is Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs a good school?
Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 91% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in City of Chicago Sd 299?
Besides Dunbar Vocational Career Acad Hs, 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 June 2026.