Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chicago, IL

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy

Federal NCES profile for Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 170993000628
0/100100/10039/100
👥 S:T ratio
44
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
61
📋 Attendance
22
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.

#19 of 102
elementary schools in Chicago · Resource Index
39
Resource Index · Typical
13.9:1
students per teacher
194
students enrolled

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy ranks #19 of 102 elementary schools in Chicago, IL.

School address

Enrollment

194

Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

14.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.9:1

vs 14:1 Illinois avg

-1% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy is a mid-sized elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, enrolling 194 students.

At 13.9:1, 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 194 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,845 scored Illinois schools.

Its student body is predominantly African American (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 194 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.4% 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): Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.9:1 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy compares

Turner-Drew Elem Language 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 13.9:1 ▼ 1% 14:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 194 top 82% - -

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

13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
194
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher - 1% below state mean
Top 55% in Illinois - lower ratio than 45% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
31.4%
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 194 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 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 99.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.0%

Largest group: African American at 99.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 2.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 2.0, Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy'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 elementary schools in Chicago

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy'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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy

How many students attend Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy?

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy has 194 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chicago, IL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy?

The student-teacher ratio at Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy is 13.9:1, which is 1% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 11% 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy?

The largest demographic group at Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy is African American at 99.0% of enrollment, in Chicago, IL.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy?

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy rank among elementary schools in Chicago?

By Resource Investment Index, Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy ranks #19 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.

Is Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy a good school?

Turner-Drew Elem Language Academy earns 39/100 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 Turner-Drew Elem Language 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.

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.