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Elkhart, Indiana - 19 schools
An equity score of 64/100 ranks Elkhart Community Schools #98 of 373 districts in Indiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,618 per pupil, Elkhart Community Schools ranks #73 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending (Indiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
11,318
Total Enrollment
19
Schools
$13,618
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Elkhart Community Schools operates 19 public schools serving 11,318 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Indiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 12 combined, 3 middle, 3 elementary, 1 high schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Elkhart County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,618 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Indiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 26.4% local, 56.8% state, and 16.8% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 64/100, ranked #98 of 373 in Indiana against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 19 schools offering Advanced Placement (15 AP courses district-wide), a 320.1:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 43.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 43.2% Hispanic or Latino, 34.1% White, 13.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Woodland Elementary School, with a diversity index of 70.6/100.
Its largest campus is Elkhart High School, enrolling 3,073 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Hawthorne Early Learning Center, at 156 students, a 20x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Elkhart High School accounts for 27.2% of all Elkhart Community Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Elkhart Community Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Elkhart Community Schools school enrollment varies 20× across entities
Elkhart Community Schools school enrollment ranges from 156 students (lowest) to 3,073 students (highest), a spread of 2,917 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Elkhart Community Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 65.1% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Elkhart Community Schools student-counselor ratio is 320:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Elkhart Community Schools is typically wider than the Elkhart Community Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Elkhart Community Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 43.7% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
How many schools are in Elkhart Community Schools?
Elkhart Community Schools has 19 schools, including 1 high, 3 middle, 12 combined, 3 elementary. Total enrollment is 11,318 students.
How much does Elkhart Community Schools spend per student?
Elkhart Community Schools spends $13,618 per student. The district has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #98 in Indiana.
What is the demographic composition of Elkhart Community Schools?
Elkhart Community Schools students are 43.2% Hispanic or Latino, 34.1% White, 13.0% African American, 0.9% Asian, averaged across 19 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Elkhart Community Schools?
Elkhart Community Schools has an equity score of 64/100, ranking #98 out of 373 districts in Indiana.