Oaklawn Campus Program

Oaklawn Campus Program is a small alternative public school in Mishawaka, Indiana, serving 58 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school has a predominantly White student population, with significant representation from African American, Hispanic, and Asian students. Oaklawn is part of the School City of Mishawaka district, which is ranked 257 out of 381 districts in Indiana and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Oaklawn Campus Program has seen improvements in its chronic absenteeism rate, from 23.9% in 2020-2021 to 8.3% in 2022-2023, the school's academic performance remains significantly below the district and state averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 6.25% of Oaklawn students were proficient or better in ILEARN/English Language Arts, compared to 29.71% for the School City of Mishawaka district. In ILEARN/Math, 0% of Oaklawn students were proficient or better, compared to 28.33% for the district. The school's performance on the SAT was also significantly lower than the district. These academic challenges may be influenced by the school's high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (94.83%) and its relatively high student-teacher ratio of 29 students per teacher.

When comparing Oaklawn Campus Program to other nearby alternative schools, such as Elkhart Alternative Education and Juvenile Justice Center, it becomes clear that Oaklawn is not an outlier in terms of academic performance and student demographics. These other alternative schools also struggle with low test scores, high chronic absenteeism, and high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Despite these challenges, Oaklawn Campus Program has shown some improvement in recent years, suggesting that the school is working to address the unique needs of its student population.