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Steel City Academy

Public, Charter, Alternative Grades K-12

945^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,005 Indiana Alternative Schools

Better than 6% of Indiana alternative schools

Summary

Steel City Academy is an alternative public charter school in Gary, Indiana, serving 317 students in grades K-12. The school aims to provide an alternative educational environment for its students, but faces significant challenges in supporting their academic and personal success.

Steel City Academy's performance metrics raise concerns, with fluctuating four-year graduation rates ranging from 65.3% to 88.4% in recent years, significantly lower than the nearby Trojan Virtual Academy at 88.4%. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism, reaching as high as 55.0%, much higher than the 17.8% rate at Eagle Park Community School. Academically, Steel City Academy lags behind state and nearby school averages, with only 20.9% of students proficient in ILEARN English Language Arts and just 6.67% proficient in math, compared to state averages of 40.3-42.7% and 34.5-51.5%, respectively.

Despite the school's high-needs population, with 66.88% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, its academic performance trails that of nearby alternative schools like Trojan Virtual Academy and Eagle Park Community School. The school has seen a significant increase in per-student spending, from $8,366 in 2020-2021 to $18,967 in 2023-2024, but this investment has not yet translated into improved outcomes for students. Steel City Academy faces a complex set of challenges in supporting its students and improving academic achievement.

286

Students ?

8.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,967

Per pupil spending ?

78.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2650 W 35th Avenue
Gary, IN 46408

(219) 750-1010

District: Steel City Academy

Racial breakdown:

African American:

92.0%

Hispanic:

3.1%

Two or more races:

3.1%

See top rated Indiana elementary schools

Compare Steel City Academy to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 8th percentile in 2022 → 37th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 29 percentile points since 2022

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (16% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Indiana average (80% vs 90%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg16%

Indiana avg41%

Elementary school

945^th of 1,005

Indiana public elementary schools ?

Bottom 6%▼ down 1 pts since 2022

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

389^th of 480

Indiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 17 pts since 2019

From bottom 2% (2019) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

272^nd of 429

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 37%▼ down 28 pts since 2021

From top 35% (2021) to bottom 37% (2025)

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
2025	8.5	945 of 1005	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.8	999 of 1011	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.9	998 of 1016	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.1	951 of 1020	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	18.4	389 of 480	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.3	385 of 491	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.7	381 of 489	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	397 of 490	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.6	411 of 483	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	3.8	459 of 470	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	38.7	272 of 429	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	16.7	361 of 432	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.2	373 of 398	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.7	378 of 409	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	55.9	137 of 388	64.7%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	59.9	31 of 132	76.5%	★★★★☆
2024	45.1	51 of 132	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	22.3	105 of 125	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.7	79 of 125	36.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	50.5	183 of 387	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	16.9	331 of 392	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	373 of 388	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	51.7	166 of 377	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	26.9	291 of 377	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.1	355 of 379	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)77th percentile+40 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)56th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2025)53rd percentile+16 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2024-2025) ?

Evidence-based Reading and Writing54%~ state avg

Biology43%~ state avg

English Language Arts21%

Science10%

Math7%

Social Studies4%-34 vs state

Mathematics0%-25 vs state

★

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Schools Near Steel City Academy

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2025)							ILEARN Math (2025)							ILEARN Science (2025)			ILEARN Social Studies (2025)	ILEARN Biology (2025)	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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
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)	54.2	0.0	31.6	0.0	20.8	11.5	16.7	58.8	20.9	15.8	0.0	4.2	7.7	0.0	17.7	6.7	12.5	7.7	10.0	4.2	43.5	$18,967	$8,599	$10,368
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)	25.0	0.0						0.0	4.8						0.0	0.0						$11,053	$4,617	$6,436
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	98.9%	14 (1.2%)	985 (86.6%)	101 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (3.3%)								(n/a)	10.2	3.7	19.4	20.5	6.5	24.7	18.0	20.0	18.1	11.9	6.4	10.4	6.9	7.6	8.0	8.5	18.0	15.1	16.6	1.3	11.3	$16,928	$7,371	$9,557
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)	26.5	0.0	14.0	14.6	18.4	13.3	14.1	30.3	17.7	15.5	15.0	15.0	11.5	3.2	8.8	11.1	8.3	0.0	6.6	12.5	11.1	$14,770	$5,689	$9,081
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)	25.7	2.7	26.3	20.5	19.4	8.6	11.7	20.3	18.3	42.5	30.8	20.2	8.8	4.0	5.1	19.2	15.4	10.3	13.2	6.4	16.5	$13,965	$3,768	$10,197
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)									11.8							0.0						$00
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)	33.3	0.0							5.0							9.5
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)	33.3	4.8					43.8	31.8	37.7					25.0	14.3	23.1					43.5	$8,966	$2,746	$6,220

Frequently Asked Questions about Steel City Academy

How many students attend Steel City Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 286 students attended Steel City Academy.

Is Steel City Academy a good school?

Steel City Academy ranks in the bottom 6.0% of Indiana alternative schools.

What is the racial makeup of Steel City Academy?

Students at Steel City Academy are 92% African American, 3% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 2% White.

What district is Steel City Academy in?

Steel City Academy

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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.