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Best Public Schools in Gary, IN

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Indiana rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

11,157

Students

Districts

Top rankedAspire Charter Academy829^th of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Frankie Woods McCullough Academy up 33 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Steel City Academy 8.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

8 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Indiana cities →See the top-ranked Indiana schools →

Summary:

Gary, Indiana has 21 schools serving elementary, middle, high, and alternative/K-12 students, with 11,157 students enrolled across them. The largest are West Side Leadership Academy (1,232), 21st Century Charter School of Gary (1,180), and Gary Lighthouse Charter School (1,138). Gary Community School Corp operates 10 schools, Lake Ridge New Technical Schools operates 3, and charters/others account for 8. Gary Community ranks 365th of 374 districts (2nd percentile); Aspire Charter Academy is the best local district at 297th (21st percentile), while Charter School of the Dunes is 356th.

Steel City Academy is the clearest bright spot: 16.4% chronic absenteeism, near the state’s 16.7%; highest all-grades ILEARN Science (30%); highest 2025-2026 SAT EBRW (36.84%); and 4th grade ELA and math above state rates. Aspire Charter Academy leads local elementary schools in all-grades ILEARN ELA (25.13%) and math (20.85%). Thea Bowman Leadership Academy has best attendance (6.7%) but weak math. 21st Century Charter School of Gary and Calumet New Technical High School have high graduation (97.6% and 97.2% vs. state 89.7%) but SAT Math 0% and 4.38%. Concerns include Excel Center - Gary (6.4% graduation, 95.0% absenteeism), Gary Middle College (24.2%, 91.5%), Bailly Middle School (2.37% math, 79.1% absenteeism), West Side Leadership Academy (58.6% graduation, 75.3% absenteeism despite highest SAT Math 15.32%), and Gary Virtual Academy (0% ELA/math, 33.3% graduation).

Citywide, 19 of 21 schools exceed the state chronic absenteeism rate (median 46.2%, average 48.3%). Graduation median is 71.4%, average 61.2%, and only 2 of 9 schools with data exceed the state’s 89.7%. All-grades ILEARN medians are ELA 12.3%, math 10.3%, science 12.8%, far below state grade-level rates around 35%–52%. The best SAT EBRW is 36.84% vs. state 51.9%; the best SAT Math is 15.32% vs. state 25.6%, with many 0% SAT Math. Spending ranges from $6,052 to $21,037 (median $16,928); free/reduced lunch ranges from 3.2% to 98.86% (median 64.85%). Poverty and spending do not predict outcomes neatly. Some values are blank, and some zeros may reflect small cohorts; a reported 118:1 ratio is likely a reporting issue. Most ranked Gary schools remain at the bottom of Indiana.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)							ILEARN Math (2026)							ILEARN Science (2026)			ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 4th Grade	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Vaccination: Kindergartners vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3401 W 5th Ave	Gary	46406	Lake County	Thea Bowman Leadership Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 944-3100	773	45	17.1	63.8%	0 (0.0%)	717 (92.8%)	38 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (2.3%)								(n/a)	31.3	3.1	15.7	28.6	10.1	18.2	13.1	8.5	14.7	11.8	4.8	2.9	14.0	8.8	1.7	6.9	19.1	15.4	17.3	10.3	12.7	72.3%		$14,770	$5,689	$9,081
Charter School of the Dunes	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	7300 East Melton Rd	Gary	46403	Lake County	Charter School of the Dunes	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 939-9690	836	47	17.7	67.5%	9 (1.1%)	708 (84.7%)	74 (8.9%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (4.5%)	6.9	972^nd of 1015 public elementary schools	4.2%		5.8	980^th of 1005 public elementary schools	2.5%	8			8.1	13.6	7.4	10.4	19.3	32.1	15.1	14.0	18.5	7.4	11.7	5.7	8.8	10.7	12.5	9.1	10.6	13.8		54.4%		$13,255	$3,152	$10,103
21st Century Charter School of Gary	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	556 Washington St	Gary	46402	Lake County	21st Century Charter School of Gary	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 886-9339	1,180	10	118.0	77.4%	1 (0.1%)	1,088 (92.2%)	64 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (2.2%)								(n/a)	20.3	0.0	15.6	21.7	22.4	18.5	21.4	27.2	20.8	21.9	28.3	12.0	7.8	10.0	4.9	13.6	23.3	15.7	18.5	10.7	15.8	86.9%		$13,965	$3,768	$10,197
Gary Lighthouse Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	725 Clark Road	Gary	46406	Lake County	Gary Lighthouse Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 977-9583	1,138	75	15.1	—	14 (1.2%)	985 (86.6%)	101 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (3.3%)								(n/a)	13.7	0.0	19.7	13.0	11.5	3.3	9.4	20.5	12.6	25.8	16.7	9.1	6.5	8.2	10.1	11.9	13.0	2.3	6.3	14.3	16.5	100%		$16,928	$7,371	$9,557
Aspire Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	4900 W 15th Ave	Gary	46406	Lake County	Aspire Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 944-7400	684	33	20.7	96.1%	2 (0.3%)	556 (81.3%)	70 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (8.2%)	19.3	829^th of 1015 public elementary schools	18.3%		24.5	780^th of 1005 public elementary schools	22.4%	49			17.5	15.2	22.6	41.1	28.1	25.8	25.1	26.3	21.2	7.6	28.8	20.3	16.1	20.9	12.3	17.8	15.2	20.8		89.6%		$16,911	$6,382	$10,529
Gary Middle College	Public, Charter	9-12	131 East 5th Ave	Gary	46402	Lake County	Gary Middle College	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 888-7120	202	10	14.9	26.2%	5 (2.5%)	175 (86.6%)	16 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)	7	401^st of 415 public high schools	3.4%		4.9	414^th of 429 public high schools	3.5%	13	9.4	3.1																						$11,562	$2,542	$9,020
Steel City Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2650 W 35th Avenue	Gary	46408	Lake County	Steel City Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 750-1010	286	32	8.9	78.7%	5 (1.7%)	263 (92.0%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.1%)								(n/a)	36.8	0.0	8.7	47.4	13.6	28.6	22.7	12.0	21.2	17.4	63.2	0.0	10.0	0.0	0.0	13.7	36.8	23.8	30.0	13.6		60%		$18,967	$8,599	$10,368
Excel Center - Gary	Public, Charter	9-12	4610 W Ridge Road	Gary	46408	Lake County	Excel Center - Gary	Yes	No	No	No	(219) 789-5236	125	8	15.6	3.2%	13 (10.4%)	84 (67.2%)	20 (16.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.6%)								(n/a)																								$6,052	$594	$5,458
Banneker Elementary at Marquette	Public	K-5	6401 Hemlock Ave	Gary	46403	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 321-8545	293	16	18.0	64.8%	5 (1.7%)	274 (93.5%)	7 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	6.5	976^th of 1015 public elementary schools	3.8%		8	952^nd of 1005 public elementary schools	5.3%	24			19.3	7.0	7.3				12.1	14.0	7.0	7.1				9.9	9.3		9.3	12.5		82.1%		$18,627	$5,373	$13,254
Beveridge Elementary School	Public	K-5	1234 Cleveland St	Gary	46404	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 321-8546	374	22	16.7	66.6%	1 (0.3%)	322 (86.1%)	28 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.3%)	4.8	1000^th of 1015 public elementary schools	1.5%		3.6	1000^th of 1005 public elementary schools	0.5%				1.2	9.4	1.8				3.7	9.9	20.8	3.6				11.1	18.9		18.9	3.6		80.6%		$17,943	$5,485	$12,458
Frankie Woods McCullough Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	1110 W 21st Ave	Gary	46407	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 944-7301	472	30	15.6	57.4%	3 (0.6%)	422 (89.4%)	35 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.5%)	7.8	960^th of 1015 public elementary schools	5.4%		4.5	993^rd of 1005 public elementary schools	1.2%	33			12.7	10.0	6.9				9.7	16.5	35.0	5.8				17.3	13.3		13.3	5.8		88.1%		$18,045	$5,695	$12,351
Gary Career Center	Public	6-12	1800 E 35th Ave	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 962-7571	0	14	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Mary M Bethune Early Child Dev Center	Public	PK-K	2367 E 21st Ave	Gary	46407	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 886-6542	231	10	23.1	43.7%	2 (0.9%)	202 (87.4%)	19 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.0%)								(n/a)																						73.5%		$17,381	$9,756	$7,625
West Side Leadership Academy	Public	9-12	9th & Gerry St	Gary	46406	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 413-9870	1,232	69	17.9	62.6%	7 (0.6%)	1,102 (89.4%)	78 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.7%)	17.4	347^th of 415 public high schools	16.4%		12.3	380^th of 429 public high schools	11.4%	33	18.0	15.3																			11.2			$21,037	$6,127	$14,910
Glen Park Academy for Excel in Learning	Public	K-5	5002 Madison St	Gary	46408	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 318-2800	566	37	15.2	58.0%	6 (1.1%)	470 (83.0%)	65 (11.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.2%)	4.4	1004^th of 1015 public elementary schools	1.1%		4.5	995^th of 1005 public elementary schools	1.0%	9			5.8	7.9	10.1				7.7	9.3	4.0	7.5				7.3	9.5		9.5	6.8		77.1%		$17,768	$5,663	$12,104
Daniel Hale Williams Elementary School	Public	K-5	1320 E 19th Ave	Gary	46407	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 881-3600	450	28	15.9	69.8%	8 (1.8%)	406 (90.2%)	24 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.2%)	6.3	979^th of 1015 public elementary schools	3.5%		5.5	988^th of 1005 public elementary schools	1.7%	9			9.9	15.8	19.3				14.0	4.4	13.2	0.0				4.8	10.5		10.5	10.5		93%		$17,091	$5,390	$11,701
Bailly Middle School	Public	6-8	4621 Georgia St	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 980-6326	355	28	12.7	60.0%	7 (2.0%)	292 (82.3%)	34 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.6%)	4.9	478^th of 486 public middle schools	1.6%		9.2	446^th of 480 public middle schools	7.1%	32						8.6	6.1	5.6	6.8				2.1	0.9	4.0	2.4		5.7	5.7		0.0			$18,063	$5,461	$12,602
Gary Middle School	Public	6-8	301 Parke St	Gary	46403	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 321-8547	365	25	14.4	62.5%	2 (0.5%)	334 (91.5%)	18 (4.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.7%)	6.4	471^st of 486 public middle schools	3.1%		6.8	464^th of 480 public middle schools	3.3%	7						5.9	9.1	11.1	8.6				5.2	5.8	7.6	6.1		5.9	5.9					$18,400	$6,070	$12,331
Gary Virtual Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	1800 E 35th Ave	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 881-5466	45	2	20.0	62.2%	2 (4.4%)	39 (86.7%)	1 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (6.7%)								(n/a)	0.0	0.0							0.0							0.0								$11,053	$4,617	$6,436
Calumet New Technical High School	Public	9-12	3900 Calhoun St	Gary	46408	Lake County	Lake Ridge New Technical Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 838-6990	620	42	14.9	90.6%	136 (21.9%)	309 (49.8%)	142 (22.9%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.7%)	12.4	363^rd of 415 public high schools	12.5%		11.2	383^rd of 429 public high schools	10.7%	20	28.5	4.4																			14.4			$14,358	$1,857	$12,500
Lake Ridge New Technical Middle School	Public	5-8	3601 W 41st Ave	Gary	46408	Lake County	Lake Ridge New Technical Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 980-0730	447	27	16.8	97.5%	125 (28.0%)	175 (39.1%)	122 (27.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.1%)	13.2	433^rd of 486 public middle schools	10.9%		9.5	443^rd of 480 public middle schools	7.7%	10					10.0	20.5	10.7	26.0	17.1			7.8	10.9	5.9	5.8	7.7		17.1	17.1	8.9				$13,528	$2,656	$10,873
Longfellow New Technical Elementary School	Public	K-4	45th/Calhoun Sts	Gary	46408	Lake County	Lake Ridge New Technical Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 923-7004	483	25	19.3	97.1%	153 (31.7%)	154 (31.9%)	146 (30.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (5.8%)	5.4	992^nd of 1015 public elementary schools	2.3%		5.1	989^th of 1005 public elementary schools	1.6%	3			4.0	14.6					9.4	12.1	11.8					11.9	12.8		12.8			75.3%		$14,198	$3,558	$10,640

Cities Near Gary

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Merrillville	2 mi	9	369^th
Crown Point	4.12 mi	10	27^th
Hobart	4.4 mi	9	318^th
Valparaiso	5.39 mi	24	59^th
Hebron	5.67 mi	4	179^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.