Summary:
Willard Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Winchester, Indiana, serving grades 3-5 with a total enrollment of 235 students. The school is part of the Randolph Central School Corporation, which is ranked 171 out of 364 school districts in Indiana and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Willard Elementary faces several challenges, including a significantly higher percentage of white students (around 90%) compared to the surrounding schools, which have more diverse student populations. The school has also seen a steady increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 8.9% in 2020-2021 to 14.9% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district and state averages. Academically, Willard Elementary's test scores in ILEARN/English Language Arts, Math, and Science are generally lower than the district and state averages, with only 36.05% of students proficient or better in ELA and 47.21% in Math for all grades in 2022-2023. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 47.51% to 62.13% over the past three years, indicating a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students.
Willard Elementary's performance lags behind some of the higher-performing nearby schools, such as Deerfield Elementary (ranked 160 out of 1,016 schools) and Selma Elementary (ranked 128 out of 1,016 schools), which have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism, and better student-teacher ratios. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined over the past decade, from being ranked 324 out of 1,035 Indiana elementary schools in 2012-2013 to 493 out of 1,016 in 2022-2023, with a corresponding drop in its SchoolDigger star rating from 3 to 2 stars. Addressing the socioeconomic factors and other challenges facing Willard Elementary could be crucial for improving the school's performance and providing a better educational experience for its students.
Detail: