Enrollment
330
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chicago, IL
Shields Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Shields Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 170993006207
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shields Middle School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 90% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- #40 of 102
- elementary schools in Chicago · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10:1
- small classes for Illinois
- 330
- students enrolled
Shields Middle School has class sizes smaller than 90% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Shields Middle School ranks #40 of 102 elementary schools in Chicago, IL.
School address
District: City of Chicago Sd 299 · Illinois
NCES ID 170993006207 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shields Middle School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shields Middle School
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational strength
Shields Middle School's enrollment is not at an extreme, but its student-teacher ratio is: it reports fewer students per teacher than most Illinois schools. This is the most distinctive scale-adjusted signal in the federal record. It should be read as staffing capacity, not class size or an academic outcome; the page separately reports attendance, program access, demographics, and district finance so a single favorable ratio does not become an unsupported overall rating.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Shields Middle School's 70.3% 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.
Shields Middle School is a mid-sized elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 330 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10:1, Shields Middle School is leaner than roughly 90% of Illinois schools and 29% under the state's 14:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
With 330 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 5/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 330 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 70.3% 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 elementary schools, it stands alongside Mount Greenwood Elem School (1,182 students): Shields Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10:1 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 Shields 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 Shields Middle School compares
Shields 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 | 10:1 | ▼ 29% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 330 | top 57% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
330
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 10% in Illinois - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
70.3%
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 330 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 97.3%
African American 1.5%
White 0.6%
Two or More 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.3, Shields 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 Shields 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 Shields 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 Shields Middle 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 (~330 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shields Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Shields Middle 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 Shields Middle School
How many students attend Shields Middle School?
Shields Middle School has 330 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chicago, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shields Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Shields Middle School is 10:1, which is 29% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 36% 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 Shields Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Shields Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 97.3% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shields Middle School?
Shields Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Shields Middle School rank among elementary schools in Chicago?
By Resource Investment Index, Shields Middle School ranks #40 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 Shields 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.
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 July 2026.