Summary:
ZIP code 47362 is home to nine schools serving about 3,417 students across two districts — New Castle Community School Corp (seven schools, 2,797 students) and Blue River Valley Schools (two schools, 620 students) — covering six elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools, one of which, Blue River Valley Junior-Senior High School, serves grades 7–12. Both districts rank below the Indiana median (New Castle 249th of 374, Blue River Valley 236th of 374), yet individual schools range from the 11th to the 86th percentile.
Westwood Elementary School is the clear standout: 86th percentile, four stars, 3.8% chronic absenteeism versus 16.7% statewide, all-grade Math at 69.53% and ELA at 60.16%. Blue River Valley Elementary School (63rd percentile, three stars) is strong in Math at 56.63% and in social studies, though ELA is weaker at 35.54%. James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School (56th percentile) is the other New Castle bright spot, with 8.6% absenteeism and Math at 52.13%. At the other end, Parker Elementary School (14th percentile, 27.5% absenteeism) and Eastwood Elementary School (11th percentile) rank lowest.
Absenteeism tracks closely with performance, and seven of nine schools are above the state rate. Math is the sharpest divide, with New Castle Middle School at 23.09% all-grade Math. Both high schools beat the state graduation rate (New Castle High School 93.4%, Blue River Valley Jr-Sr High 100%) but fall below the state SAT Math rate of 25.6%. Notably, Westwood spends the least per student and has the highest student-teacher ratio yet the best outcomes, while Eastwood spends more with the lowest results — a reminder that spending alone does not explain performance.
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