Best Public Schools in Auburn, IN

Summary:

The city of Auburn, Indiana is home to two elementary schools: McKenney-Harrison Elementary School and James R Watson Elementary School. Both schools serve students from kindergarten through 6th grade and are part of the DeKalb County Ctl United School District.

Based on the data, James R Watson Elementary School appears to be the standout performer in the area. It consistently earns higher rankings on the statewide SchoolDigger scale, reaching a 5-star rating in 2021-2022 compared to McKenney-Harrison's 3-star rating. James R Watson also has significantly better academic performance, with higher proficiency rates across all grade levels and subject areas on the ILEARN assessments. For example, in 2023-2024, 46.21% of all students at James R Watson were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to only 36.65% at McKenney-Harrison. Additionally, James R Watson has lower chronic absenteeism rates and a slightly better student-teacher ratio.

While both schools have a predominantly white student population, McKenney-Harrison has a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 55.75% compared to 40.82% at James R Watson. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may be contributing to the performance gap between the two schools. Despite the differences, both schools are part of the same school district, which is only rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating broader challenges or resource constraints at the district level that may be impacting the overall quality of education.

School	Students/Teachers	Ranking (2024)	Ranking (2023)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2024)	ILEARN Math (2024)	ILEARN Social Studies (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
James R Watson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	901 Eckhart Ave	Auburn	46706	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(260) 920-1014	588	32	18.2	40.8%	540 (91.8%)	3 (0.5%)	27 (4.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.9%)	71.9	272^nd of 1010 public elementary schools	73.1%		77.8	202^nd of 1016 public elementary schools	80.1%	70	39.4	41.5	60.3	46.2	55.8	61.0	61.0	58.9	51.3	$9,399	$747	$8,652
McKenney-Harrison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 South Indiana Ave	Auburn	46706	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(260) 920-1015	644	35	18.6	55.7%	595 (92.4%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (5.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.6%)	55.9	465^th of 1010 public elementary schools	54.0%		51.5	524^th of 1016 public elementary schools	48.4%	59	36.1	33.7	40.7	36.7	49.5	51.0	46.5	49.1	43.5	$8,668	$1,055	$7,613

Cities Near Auburn

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Waterloo	2.52 mi	3	199^th
Garrett	4.47 mi	3	350^th
Ashley	8.37 mi	1	337^th
Saint Joe	8.38 mi	1	72^nd
Butler	9.73 mi	2	276^th

See the top IN Indiana cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Indiana Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2024)				ILEARN Math (2024)				ILEARN Social Studies (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
James R Watson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	901 Eckhart Ave	Auburn	46706	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(260) 920-1014	588	32	18.2	40.8%	540 (91.8%)	3 (0.5%)	27 (4.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.9%)	71.9	272^nd of 1010 public elementary schools	73.1%		77.8	202^nd of 1016 public elementary schools	80.1%	70	39.4	41.5	60.3	46.2	55.8	61.0	61.0	58.9	51.3	$9,399	$747	$8,652
McKenney-Harrison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 South Indiana Ave	Auburn	46706	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(260) 920-1015	644	35	18.6	55.7%	595 (92.4%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (5.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.6%)	55.9	465^th of 1010 public elementary schools	54.0%		51.5	524^th of 1016 public elementary schools	48.4%	59	36.1	33.7	40.7	36.7	49.5	51.0	46.5	49.1	43.5	$8,668	$1,055	$7,613