Austin College and Career Acad HS

Austin College and Career Acad HS, a tiny 9-12 campus in Chicago, Illinois, part of Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, instructs 190 students, covering grades 9 through 12. That puts it 77% smaller than the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 834 students.

Austin College and Career Acad HS is one of 622 schools operated by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, a district that hosts 324,396 students overall.

Demographically, Austin College and Career Acad HS reports that nearly all students (81%) are Black. Beyond that, the school logs 17% Hispanic. By comparison, Cook County as a whole is about 22% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Austin College and Career Acad HS has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Roughly 84% of students at Austin College and Career Acad HS qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Cook County runs at roughly 66%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Austin College and Career Acad HS falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 23.2%; this one comes in at 4.0%, -19.2 points off the demographic line.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Cook County put median household income runs about $83,498, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Austin College and Career Acad HS is one of 1406 public schools in Cook County (combined enrollment of about 697,934 students).

Nearest neighbor: Ellington Elem School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Austin College and Career Acad HS. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Austin College and Career Acad HS ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 15.8%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 11%: 214 students in 2018 compared to 190 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share ticked down from 96% to 81%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 11.4:1 in 2018 to 10.0:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.