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Gary, Indiana - 1 schools
An equity score of 86/100 ranks Gary Lighthouse Charter School #13 of 373 districts in Indiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,966 per pupil, Gary Lighthouse Charter School ranks #38 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending (Indiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,127
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$14,966
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Gary Lighthouse Charter School operates 1 public schools serving 1,127 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Indiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Lake County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,966 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the top 41 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Indiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 0.5% local, 64.6% state, and 35.0% 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 86/100, ranked #13 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 1 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 284.5:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 57.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.6% African American, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% White across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Gary Lighthouse Charter School, enrolling 1,138 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Gary Lighthouse Charter School accounts for 100.0% of all Gary Lighthouse Charter School student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Gary Lighthouse Charter School a distant remainder — means Gary Lighthouse Charter School-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Gary Lighthouse Charter School has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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 a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. 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.
Gary Lighthouse Charter School student-counselor ratio is 285:1 — 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 Gary Lighthouse Charter School is typically wider than the Gary Lighthouse Charter School-aggregate figure suggests.
Gary Lighthouse Charter School chronic absenteeism rate is 57.3% — 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.
Comparisons are relative to Gary Lighthouse Charter School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Indiana
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Gary Lighthouse Charter School?
Gary Lighthouse Charter School has 1 school, including 1 combined. Total enrollment is 1,127 students.
How much does Gary Lighthouse Charter School spend per student?
Gary Lighthouse Charter School spends $14,966 per student. The district has an equity score of 86/100, ranking #13 in Indiana.
What is the demographic composition of Gary Lighthouse Charter School?
Gary Lighthouse Charter School students are 86.6% African American, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.2% White, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Gary Lighthouse Charter School?
Gary Lighthouse Charter School has an equity score of 86/100, ranking #13 out of 373 districts in Indiana.