Summary:
ZIP code 46408 in Gary, Indiana is home to two elementary schools serving roughly 1,049 students combined: Glen Park Academy for Excel in Learning (grades K–5, 566 students), part of Gary Community School Corp, and Longfellow New Technical Elementary School (grades K–4, 483 students), part of Lake Ridge New Technical Schools. Both districts rank near the very bottom of Indiana's 374 districts, and both schools rank in the bottom 1–3% of Indiana elementary schools, so families here should expect significant academic challenges at either option.
Comparing the two, Longfellow New Technical Elementary School posts higher proficiency than Glen Park Academy for Excel in Learning in every all-grade subject (ELA 9.41% vs 7.72%, Math 11.94% vs 7.34%, Science 12.75% vs 9.46%) and has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate (23.7% vs 52.6%). It does so despite far higher poverty (97.1% free/reduced lunch vs 57.95%), larger classes (19.3 vs 15.2 students per teacher), and less per-student spending ($14,198 vs $17,768). Glen Park's advantages are smaller classes and about 25% more funding per student — but those resources are not translating into better results, and more than half of its students are chronically absent, over three times the state rate of 16.7%.
Both schools remain far below Indiana averages in every grade and subject tested — nothing gets within 30 points of the state. Both improved in Science (Glen Park +2.05 points, Longfellow +2.28) and both slipped in Math, while ELA was flat to slightly up. Rank trajectories are essentially flat at the bottom of the state, with Longfellow consistently ranking roughly 20–30 positions higher than Glen Park across three years, suggesting the gap between them is stable rather than a one-year fluctuation. For parents, the clearest shared priorities are attendance and math instruction.
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