Summary:
ZIP code 46409 in Gary, Indiana is served by just two schools — Bailly Middle School (grades 6–8, about 355 students) and Gary Virtual Academy (a K–12 alternative/virtual school with about 45 students) — both part of the Gary Community School Corp and both rated 0 stars by the state.
Achievement at both schools is far below state averages. At Bailly, 2025–26 proficiency was 6.84% in ELA, 2.37% in math, and 5.71% in science, against a district at roughly 7–9%. Math is the weakest area and gets worse across the grade band: 2.14% in 6th grade, just 0.87% in 7th, then 4% in 8th. Gary Virtual Academy posted 0% proficiency in both ELA and math at the all-grades level, and the state suppresses its grade-by-grade results, so its elementary and middle-school performance is unknown. Attendance is the most striking issue: 79.1% of Bailly students were chronically absent — about 4 in 5 — versus 59.3% at Gary Virtual Academy, 63.6% for the district, and 16.7% statewide. Gary Virtual Academy’s graduation rate is 33.3%, compared with 57.1% for the district and 89.7% statewide.
The two schools look alike on poverty — free/reduced lunch is 60% at Bailly and 62.22% at Gary Virtual Academy — but not on resources. Bailly spends $18,063 per student versus $11,053 at Gary Virtual Academy, and has a much lower student-to-teacher ratio (12.7 vs. 20), though the virtual model partly explains that difference. Note that Gary Virtual Academy’s percentages come from a very small number of students and can swing widely year to year. The genuine bright spots are narrow: Bailly’s 6th-grade ELA (8.57%) beat its district (7.22%), and in 2024–25 Bailly’s ELA and science scores and Gary Virtual Academy’s SAT reading score were each above district.
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