Other / mixed grade configuration · Chicago, IL

Portage Park Elem School

Federal NCES profile for Portage Park Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 25/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 170993001039
0/100100/10025/100
👥 S:T ratio
37
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Portage Park Elem School earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 77% of Illinois schools.

#292 of 394
schools in Chicago · Resource Index
25
Resource Index · Lower
15.8:1
large classes for Illinois
933
students enrolled

Portage Park Elem School has class sizes larger than 77% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Portage Park Elem School ranks #292 of 394 schools in Chicago, IL.

School address

Enrollment

933

Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

59.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.8:1

vs 14:1 Illinois avg

+13% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Portage Park Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Portage Park Elem School

Portage Park Elem School is a large combined-grade school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 933 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.8:1 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Illinois, bigger than 92% of state schools at 933 students.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (60%) and White (29%) (diversity index 56/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 933 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.2% 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): Portage Park Elem School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.8:1 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 Portage Park 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 Portage Park Elem School compares

Portage Park 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 15.8:1 ▲ 13% 14:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 933 top 8% - -

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

15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
933
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher - 13% above state mean
Top 77% in Illinois - lower ratio than 23% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
27.2%
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 933 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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 59.5%
White 29.3%
African American 4.2%
Two or More 3.4%
Asian 2.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 59.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 55.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 55.6, Portage Park Elem School 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 Portage Park Elem 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 Portage Park 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 Similar 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 Portage Park Elem 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 other schools in Chicago

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Portage Park Elem 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 Portage Park Elem School

How many students attend Portage Park Elem School?

Portage Park Elem School has 933 students enrolled. It is a public school in Chicago, IL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Portage Park Elem School?

The student-teacher ratio at Portage Park Elem School is 15.8:1, which is 13% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Portage Park Elem School?

The largest demographic group at Portage Park Elem School is Hispanic or Latino at 59.5% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 55.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Portage Park Elem School?

Portage Park Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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 Portage Park Elem School rank among schools in Chicago?

By Resource Investment Index, Portage Park Elem School ranks #292 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 Portage Park Elem School a good school?

Portage Park Elem School earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 77% of 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 Portage Park 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.

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.