Premier Arts Academy

Premier Arts Academy is a K–8 school in Elkhart, Indiana, serving 286 students as its own district and sitting among elementary schools from Elkhart Community Schools and Concord Community Schools. In the data provided, it ranks 342 of 374 districts statewide — the 9th percentile, 0 stars — and its school-level rank has slid from the 21st percentile in 2023–24 to the 17th in 2024–25 and the 8th in 2025–26. It is also the only school in this comparison set serving grades through 8, so middle-grade comparisons to nearby PK–5 and K–4 schools are imperfect.

Test scores are the main concern. In 2025–26, all-grade ELA proficiency was 15.84% and math was 12.94% — the lowest math result among the nearby schools listed, essentially tied with Mary Daly Elementary School. Grade-level results trail the state across the board, including 3rd-grade ELA at 9.3% versus 40.8% statewide, 6th-grade ELA at 4.17% versus 41.3%, and 8th-grade math at 4.76% versus 34.2%. The relatively stronger spots are 7th- and 8th-grade ELA (29.17% and 28.57%) and 5th-grade social studies at 22.64%, which beats several nearby K–5 schools but remains well below the state's 47.2%. By contrast, Concord Ox Bow Elementary School posts 48.5% ELA and 52.1% math.

A few conditions look favorable. Premier has the lowest student-teacher ratio among the nearby schools (11.9), and chronic absenteeism fell sharply from 21.0% in 2023–24 to 11.8% in 2024–25, better than the state's 16.7%. Its free/reduced lunch rate (58.39%) is lower than several higher-poverty neighbors, and per-student spending ($11,790) is mid-pack. Still, achievement has declined even as attendance improved, and some peers — Concord West Side Elementary School and Roosevelt STEAM Academy — have moved up in rank while Premier slipped.