Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 46835

ZIP code 46835 is home to four elementary schools — Saint Joseph Central School, Arlington Elementary School, Robert C Harris Elementary School, and Willard Shambaugh Elementary School — all serving grades K–5 within Fort Wayne Community Schools, enrolling 1,478 students combined.

This group is a bright spot within its district, which ranks in the 27th percentile statewide with 1 star. The four schools instead rank between the 42nd and 57th percentiles, and all four beat district averages in ELA, math, and science. Robert C Harris Elementary School leads the group in reading (52.48% ELA proficiency, above the state in grades 3, 4, and 5), holds the top rank at 437 of 1,015 with 3 stars, and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 10.8% — despite the highest free/reduced lunch rate at 61.94%. Saint Joseph Central School is the math and science leader (46.41% math, 47.46% science) and improved from the 27th percentile with 1 star to the 52nd percentile with 3 stars. Arlington Elementary School and Willard Shambaugh Elementary School both sit at the 42nd percentile with 2 stars.

Attendance is a shared strength: every school's chronic absenteeism (10.8% to 14.5%) is below both the district's 20.2% and the state's 16.7%. The clearest shared weakness is 5th-grade math, where all four fall below the state's 42%. Resources also don't map neatly to results — Shambaugh has the smallest classes (10.2 ratio) and highest spending ($16,852) but middle-of-the-pack outcomes, while Arlington has the largest classes (13.4) and lowest spending ($13,295) yet a similar rank.