The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Math. The lowest is 41% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Van Buren Elementary School
Van Buren Elementary School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Brazil, Indiana, the county seat of Clay County. It sits within the Clay Community Schools district and is one of several elementary schools serving the community. The school draws from a rural and small-town setting, with Brazil’s downtown centered around a historic courthouse square and a Main Street nonprofit that has driven art projects and economic revitalization for over a decade. For families looking at this area, the housing market is modest relative to national and state benchmarks, and the local economy reflects the broader patterns of a small Midwestern county seat.
Academically, Van Buren posts a mixed picture on the state’s ILEARN assessments. In math, a strong majority of students reached proficiency, putting the school on solid footing in that subject. Social studies and science also show a majority of tested students meeting the bar, with science results coming from a smaller group of students in the grade that takes that test. English language arts is the clear soft spot, with less than half of students performing at the proficient level. A parent considering this school will want to follow up on how the school supports literacy and reading comprehension, especially since the overall enrollment of around two hundred sixty students is small enough that targeted interventions could have meaningful impact. The school reported full participation on both math and ELA tests, which adds confidence that the results reflect the full student body.
The student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic need. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the profile. Families who want to understand special education or language support should ask the school directly.
The school’s environment and staffing details were not provided in the data, nor were any program offerings such as arts, STEM, or before- and after-care. The absence of this information is not unusual for an elementary school profile from this reporting source, but it means a parent will need to reach out to the school or district to get a full picture of enrichment opportunities and support services. There were no discipline or attendance figures either, so chronic absenteeism rates and other climate measures are unknown from this data.
Because Clay County has only a single school district, the typical neighbor comparison—which would place Van Buren’s performance among nearby districts—cannot be drawn. That limits the external benchmark a parent might use to gauge how this school stacks up against its local peers. Even so, the school’s own results give a clear enough baseline: strong in math and social studies, decent in science, and an area of genuine concern in English language arts. A family whose child needs literacy support may want to investigate what reading interventions and small-group instruction are in place, while families whose child is strong in math may find the school a comfortable fit. For anyone new to the area, Brazil is a small, slow-growing community with a compact downtown, a public library as a civic anchor, and a historic character that appeals to those seeking a quieter, established town environment.
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