Enrollment
268
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Chicago, IL
Morton Elem Career Academy
Federal NCES profile for Morton Elem Career Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 170993004956
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 1
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Morton Elem Career Academy earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median.
- #151 of 394
- schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.2:1
- students per teacher
- 268
- students enrolled
Morton Elem Career Academy has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Morton Elem Career Academy ranks #151 of 394 schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993004956 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.2:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Morton Elem Career Academy compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Morton Elem Career Academy
Morton Elem Career Academy is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 268 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 268 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 led by African American (59%) and Hispanic or Latino (25%) (diversity index 57/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 268 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 39.6% 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 public schools, it stands alongside Lane Technical High School (4,604 students): Morton Elem Career Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.2:1 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 Morton Elem Career 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 Morton Elem Career Academy compares
Morton Elem Career 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 | 12.2:1 | ▼ 13% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 268 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
268
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.2:1
students per teacher
- 13% below state mean
Top 31% in Illinois - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
39.6%
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
$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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 268 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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
African American 59.3%
Hispanic or Latino 25.4%
White 13.1%
Two or More 1.9%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 59.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.6, Morton Elem Career Academy is more 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 Morton Elem Career Academy.
$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 Morton Elem Career 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 Morton Elem Career 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 (~268 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Morton Elem Career Academy's federal record.
- Compare Morton Elem Career 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 Morton Elem Career Academy
How many students attend Morton Elem Career Academy?
Morton Elem Career Academy has 268 students enrolled. It is a public school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Morton Elem Career Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Morton Elem Career Academy is 12.2:1, which is 13% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 22% 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 Morton Elem Career Academy?
The largest demographic group at Morton Elem Career Academy is African American at 59.3% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Morton Elem Career Academy?
Morton Elem Career Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical 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 Morton Elem Career Academy rank among schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Morton Elem Career Academy ranks #151 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.
Is Morton Elem Career Academy a good school?
Morton Elem Career Academy earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. 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 Morton Elem Career 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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.