Middle school (grades 6-8) · Chicago, IL

Hernandez Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Hernandez Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 170993006091
0/100100/10027/100
👥 S:T ratio
48
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
28
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Hernandez Middle School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.

#6 of 7
middle schools in Chicago · Resource Index
27
Resource Index · Lower
12.9:1
students per teacher
720
students enrolled

Hernandez Middle School has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Hernandez Middle School ranks #6 of 7 middle schools in Chicago, IL.

School address

Enrollment

720

Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

56.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.9:1

vs 14:1 Illinois avg

-8% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Hernandez Middle School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Hernandez Middle School

Hernandez Middle School is a large middle school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 720 students.

At 12.9:1, 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 720 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 (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 360 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

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.

Among Chicago's middle schools, it stands alongside Northwest Middle School (532 students): Hernandez Middle School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.9:1 vs 15.6:1).

City of Chicago Sd 299 also operates Lane Technical High School (4,604 students) and Taft High School (4,487 students) alongside Hernandez Middle 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 Hernandez Middle School compares

Hernandez Middle 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 12.9:1 ▼ 8% 14:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 720 top 13% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
720
Bigger than 81% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher - 8% below state mean
Top 41% in Illinois - lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
46.5%
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
$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 360 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
78
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

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

Hispanic or Latino 97.8%
African American 1.4%
White 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 4.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 4.3, Hernandez Middle 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 Hernandez Middle School.

$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 Hernandez Middle 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 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 Hernandez Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

City Of Chicago Sd 299 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Chicago

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Hernandez Middle School's federal record.

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 Hernandez Middle School

How many students attend Hernandez Middle School?

Hernandez Middle School has 720 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chicago, IL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Hernandez Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Hernandez Middle School is 12.9:1, which is 8% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 18% 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 Hernandez Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Hernandez Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 97.8% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Hernandez Middle School?

Hernandez Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Hernandez Middle School rank among middle schools in Chicago?

By Resource Investment Index, Hernandez Middle School ranks #6 of 7 middle 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 middle schools in Chicago on the city page.

Is Hernandez Middle School a good school?

Hernandez Middle School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools. 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 Hernandez Middle 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.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.