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21st Century Charter School of Gary

Q: Is 21st Century Charter School of Gary a good school?

21st Century Charter School of Gary ranks in the bottom 12.2% of Indiana alternative schools.

Q: How many students attend 21st Century Charter School of Gary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,180 students attended 21st Century Charter School of Gary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of 21st Century Charter School of Gary?

Students at 21st Century Charter School of Gary are 92% African American, 5% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

Public, Charter, Alternative Grades K-12

891^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,015 Indiana Alternative Schools

Better than 12% of Indiana alternative schools

Summary

21st Century Charter School of Gary is an alternative K–12 charter school serving 1,180 students at 556 Washington St. in Gary, Indiana, where it operates as its own charter district and where 77.37% of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Its clearest strength is graduation: 97.6% of students graduated in 2024-25, well above Indiana's 89.7%, and the highest rate among nearby alternatives with reported data — Northwest Indiana Online School (94.8%), Griffth Junior/Senior High School (93.0%), Gary Lighthouse Charter School (82.4%), Steel City Academy (80.0%), Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (71.4%) and Gary Virtual Academy (33.3%).

Test scores tell a different story. In 2025-26, all-grades ILEARN proficiency was 20.78% in English language arts, 13.61% in math and 18.52% in science — far below state benchmarks. On the SAT, 20.31% of 11th graders met the reading and writing benchmark and 0% met the math benchmark. Math is the weakest area: proficiency drops steadily by grade, from 28.33% in 4th grade to 4.94% in 8th grade, and SAT math has hovered near zero for years (1.09% in 2022-23, 2.17% in 2023-24, 2.7% in 2024-25 and 0% in 2025-26).

Chronic absenteeism has improved from 46.8% in 2020-21 to 25.8% in 2024-25, though it remains above Indiana's 16.7% and above Thea Bowman (6.7%) and Steel City (16.4%). Compared with other Gary alternatives, the school is relatively strong on graduation and attendance but mid-pack academically: better than Gary Lighthouse on most measures and similar to Steel City in ELA and math, but behind Griffth and Northwest Indiana Online in most subjects. Per-student spending was $13,965 in 2023-24 — more than Griffith ($10,281) but less than Gary Lighthouse ($16,928) and Steel City ($18,967) — suggesting spending alone does not explain outcomes. The reported 2024-25 student-teacher ratio of 118 appears to be a data anomaly, since prior years showed 11.6 and 12.1.

1,180

Students ?

118.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,965

Per pupil spending ?

77.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

86.9%

Kindergartners vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) (2025-26)

556 Washington St
Gary, IN 46402

(219) 886-9339

District: 21st Century Charter School of Gary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

92.2%

Hispanic:

5.4%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Indiana elementary schools

Compare 21st Century Charter School of Gary to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 6th percentile in 2023 → 6th in 2026

Strengths

✓98% graduate in 4 years — above the Indiana average (90%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (16% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (26% vs 17% Indiana)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school16%

District avg16%

Indiana avg42%

Elementary school

891^st of 1,015

Indiana public elementary schools ?

Bottom 12%▲ up 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 12% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

423^rd of 486

Indiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 13%▲ up 4 pts since 2016

From bottom 9% (2016) to bottom 13% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

389^th of 415

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 6%▼ down 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	12.8	891 of 1015	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.4	848 of 1005	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.7	871 of 1011	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.6	921 of 1016	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.8	973 of 1020	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	5.0	995 of 1016	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.6	962 of 1031	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.1	952 of 1027	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	4.9	987 of 1033	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	10.3	969 of 1046	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	7.5	983 of 1040	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	10.7	970 of 1036	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	38.7	761 of 1035	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	35.8	763 of 1015	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	44.2	704 of 1025	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	45.1	652 of 1009	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	2.0	997 of 1003	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	0.1	996 of 996	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	0.2	985 of 985	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	14.3	423 of 486	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	8.6	450 of 480	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	441 of 491	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	6.2	477 of 489	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.0	463 of 490	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.2	467 of 483	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.2	456 of 470	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.6	405 of 473	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	10.6	421 of 472	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	9.5	452 of 494	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	13.7	430 of 485	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	20.7	403 of 470	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	53.6	242 of 444	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	31.1	364 of 447	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	28.8	383 of 451	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	55.6	220 of 428	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	8.7	397 of 423	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	1.3	388 of 392	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	0.1	382 of 382	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	8.4	389 of 415	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.1	385 of 429	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	382 of 432	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	376 of 398	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	4.1	394 of 409	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.1	360 of 388	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.8	351 of 389	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	359 of 385	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.2	356 of 380	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	7.1	364 of 394	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	5.8	374 of 400	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	40.1	217 of 379	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2012	13.0	347 of 373	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	11.1	338 of 364	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	22.1	308 of 362	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	2.2	350 of 364	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	0.2	356 of 360	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	0.1	352 of 354	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	28.2	93 of 133	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.0	77 of 132	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.2	86 of 132	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.1	102 of 125	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	106 of 125	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	9.8	362 of 395	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.0	371 of 387	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	337 of 392	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.0	365 of 388	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	9.8	367 of 390	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.9	342 of 377	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.2	360 of 377	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.3	354 of 379	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	389 of 397	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.5	355 of 386	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.5	382 of 392	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.9	367 of 383	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2024	12.7	288 of 289	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	34.5	193 of 285	32.3%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

High school

African American (2026)30th percentile+24 vs school

Female (2026)8th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Male (2026)2nd percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2024)<1st percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts21%

Evidence-based Reading and Writing20%-32 vs state

Science19%

Biology16%

Math14%

Social Studies11%-37 vs state

Mathematics0%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near 21st Century Charter School of Gary

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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 ()				Ranking ()				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 ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	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
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
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
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
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
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
Griffth Junior/Senior High School	Public, Alternative	4-12	600 N Wiggs St	Griffith	46319	Lake County	Griffith Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(219) 924-4281	1,112	70	16.0	55.9%	465 (41.8%)	236 (21.2%)	347 (31.2%)	7 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	53 (4.8%)								(n/a)	51.2	22.6				29.4	37.8	25.9	31.3				34.9	23.7	24.3	27.2		36.0	36.0		29.5			$10,281	$547	$9,735
Region Virtual Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	602 N Raymond	Griffith	46319	Lake County	Griffith Public Schools	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(219) 924-4250	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Eagle Park Community School	Public, Alternative	K-12	2150 W 97th Place	Crown Point	46307	Lake County	NW Indiana Special Education Coop	No	No	No	No	(219) 769-4000	87	8	10.8	26.4%	53 (60.9%)	8 (9.2%)	21 (24.1%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.6%)								(n/a)									13.3							0.0						75%		$00
Northwest Indiana Online School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	601 W Morgan Ave	Chesterton	46304	Porter County	Duneland School Corporation	No	No	Yes	No	(219) 983-3743	130	1	117.1	33.1%	92 (70.8%)	7 (5.4%)	25 (19.2%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.8%)								(n/a)	45.0	10.0				70.0	46.2	36.4	40.4				50.0	0.0	9.5	16.1			50.0		52.4	75%		$8,966	$2,746	$6,220
Porter County Education Services	Public, Alternative	K-12	750 Ransom Rd	Valparaiso	46385	Porter County	Porter County Education Services	No	No	No	No	(219) 464-9607	0	18	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)									0.0							0.0

Frequently Asked Questions about 21st Century Charter School of Gary

What is the racial makeup of 21st Century Charter School of Gary?

Students at 21st Century Charter School of Gary are 92% African American, 5% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What district is 21st Century Charter School of Gary in?

21st Century Charter School of Gary

How many students attend 21st Century Charter School of Gary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,180 students attended 21st Century Charter School of Gary.

Is 21st Century Charter School of Gary a good school?

21st Century Charter School of Gary ranks in the bottom 12.2% of Indiana alternative schools.

Rate 21st Century Charter School of Gary!

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 20, 2026

2023–24 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 ILEARN & SAT test scoresSep 25, 2026

2024–25 graduation ratesJan 5, 2026

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.