Michael Grimmer Middle School

Michael Grimmer Middle School is a grades 5–8 school in Schererville, Indiana (Lake County) serving 814 students, the smallest of the three middle schools in the Lake Central School Corporation.

It's a strong school. Statewide, it ranks 87th of 486 Indiana middle schools for 2025–26, placing it in the top fifth. That's a recovery from a pandemic-era dip to the 65th percentile in 2020–21 — roughly 17 percentile points regained. English/language arts is quietly excellent and still improving: all-grades ELA proficiency is 58.33%, above the district's 57.35%, and every grade level beats the state by roughly 15 points. Science is a standout at 59.26%, well above the district's 54.81%. Chronic absenteeism spiked to 30.0% in 2023–24, nearly double the district and state, then fell to 15.5% in 2024–25 — now better than both.

The one clear weakness is math. All-grades math proficiency is 42.84% against the district's 56.51% — the only subject where Grimmer trails, and the gap is nearly 14 points. It is the lowest of the three Lake Central middles: Kahler Middle School is at 55.60% and Hal E Clark Middle School at 51.80%. The gap also widens by grade — 56.21% in 5th grade falling to 36.72% in 8th — and the school sits below district at every grade level. Because the pattern repeats across grades and years against two similar peers, it looks structural rather than one bad class. Worth watching: the student-teacher ratio has risen to 18.5, the highest in its district, while per-student spending slipped to $10,765, and free/reduced lunch is 30.71%, the district's highest. Among nearby schools, Grimmer sits mid-pack — behind Munster's Wilbur Wright Middle School and Crown Point's Robert Taft Middle School, roughly level with Highland Middle School, and far ahead of Hammond's Charles N Scott Middle School and Lake Ridge New Technical Middle School.