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East Chicago, Indiana - 7 schools
An equity score of 90/100 ranks School City of East Chicago #6 of 373 districts in Indiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,910 per pupil, School City of East Chicago ranks #29 of 406 Indiana districts by per-pupil spending (Indiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,348
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$15,910
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
School City of East Chicago operates 7 public schools serving 3,348 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Indiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 4 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 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 $15,910 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 19.9% local, 57.9% state, and 22.2% 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 90/100, ranked #6 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 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 240.5:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 36.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 51.3% Hispanic or Latino, 44.8% African American, 1.3% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is William Mckinley Elementary School, with a diversity index of 54.1/100.
Its largest campus is East Chicago Central High School, enrolling 1,052 students (33% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Carrie Gosch Pk Center, at 113 students, a 9x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
East Chicago Central High School accounts for 31.4% of all School City of East Chicago student enrollment
That dominant concentration means School City of East Chicago-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.
School City of East Chicago school enrollment varies 9.3× across entities
School City of East Chicago school enrollment ranges from 113 students (lowest) to 1,052 students (highest), a spread of 939 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
School City of East Chicago has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 81.0% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants 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.
School City of East Chicago student-counselor ratio is 241:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
School City of East Chicago chronic absenteeism rate is 36.1% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
How many schools are in School City of East Chicago?
School City of East Chicago has 7 schools, including 1 high, 4 elementary, 1 middle, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 3,348 students.
How much does School City of East Chicago spend per student?
School City of East Chicago spends $15,910 per student. The district has an equity score of 90/100, ranking #6 in Indiana.
What is the demographic composition of School City of East Chicago?
School City of East Chicago students are 51.3% Hispanic or Latino, 44.8% African American, 1.3% White, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for School City of East Chicago?
School City of East Chicago has an equity score of 90/100, ranking #6 out of 373 districts in Indiana.