Winamac Community Middle School

Winamac Community Middle School serves 239 students in grades 6–8 in Winamac, a small rural community in Pulaski County, Indiana, and is the only middle school in the Eastern Pulaski Community School Corp. By state measures it is a solidly above-average school: 3 out of 5 stars, ranked 150th of 486 Indiana middle schools in 2025-26, which places it in the 69th percentile statewide. Its district ranks 125th of 374 districts, so the school is performing slightly above its district's overall profile.

Attendance is the school's standout strength. Chronic absenteeism is 8.0% — less than half the state rate of 16.7% and second-lowest among nearby schools. Winamac cut that figure from 25.8% in 2021-22 to 8.0% in 2024-25, a much deeper recovery than the state managed. Just under half of students (48.5%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the lowest reported figure among neighbors, and class sizes are moderate at 12.5 students per teacher. Achievement is strongest in the upper grades: 7th-grade ELA proficiency is 57.14% and 8th-grade is 63.22%, both well above state averages and the best in the area's peer group.

The weaker spots are 6th grade and science. Sixth-grade ELA and science each sit about 7 points below the state average, and science proficiency has fallen sharply over three years (47.83% → 39.29% → 34.09%). Math is also drifting at 40.15%, below the district's 45.49%. Among nearby schools, Winamac is the clear No. 2 behind Rochester Community Middle School, which leads it by roughly 18 points in math and 12 in science even though more of its students come from lower-income families (60.1% free/reduced lunch vs. 48.5%). North White Middle School trails far behind, with math proficiency at 7.73% and chronic absenteeism at 22.6% despite similar enrollment — though it spends $8,124 per student versus Winamac's $13,081. Winamac's statewide percentile has slipped from 80 in 2023-24 to 69 in 2025-26, so the picture is a strong school that has recently plateaued.