Summary:
Clinton, Indiana is home to two PK–5 elementary schools, Central Elementary School (366 students) and Van Duyn Elementary School (242 students), both part of South Vermillion Com School Corp, a district ranked 167 of 374 in Indiana at the 55th percentile with 3 stars.
Van Duyn is the stronger school academically. It ranked above Central in all three years of available data, finishing 2025–2026 at 394 of 1,015 (61st percentile, 3 stars) versus Central's 700 of 1,015 (31st percentile, 2 stars). Van Duyn beat the district average in all three 2025–2026 ILEARN subjects — ELA 39.62%, math 57.55%, science 46.94% — and was above the state in 3rd grade math and 4th grade science. Its chronic absenteeism of 6.3% is far below the district's 13.7% and the state's 16.7%. One caveat: Van Duyn slipped from 4 stars and the 72nd percentile in 2024–2025, largely because science proficiency fell from 63.46% to 46.94%.
Central has bright spots but lower overall results. Math is a relative strength at 46.51%, above the district's 42.82%, and science improved from 22.81% to 38.24%. ELA is the clear weakness at 16.28%, about 17 points below the district and below the state in every reported grade-level subject. Central's attendance is still good at 9.1%. Central serves a higher-poverty population (74.59% free/reduced lunch vs 52.07%), spends less per student ($11,232 vs $11,907), and has slightly smaller classes (12.2 vs 13.2 students per teacher); these differences align with the achievement gap but do not prove cause.
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