The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Medora Stem Academy
Medora STEM Academy serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Medora, a small rural town in southern Indiana. The school is part of the Medora Community School Corporation, and its name emphasizes STEM, though the data we have does not detail what that emphasis looks like in practice—a parent would want to talk with the school directly about the specific science, technology, engineering, and math offerings available at the elementary level.
The student body is small for an elementary school, with enrollment spread across grades PK through five. The great majority of students are white, with a very small number of Hispanic and multiracial students; no other racial or ethnic groups appear in the data. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives a sense of the economic mix of the community. The school does not report special education or English learner counts in our data, so a family with a child who might need those supports should ask the school directly what services are available.
On state testing, Medora STEM Academy sits in the top quartile among the four districts in Jackson County when measured by a combined proficiency index across tested subjects and grades. That is a strong position within the county. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above lands above the midpoint of the county's districts, and in English language arts it is lower, near the lower end among those same districts. Social studies testing, which Indiana administers at grade five only, shows a result that places the school roughly in the middle of the county pack. Science results were suppressed because the tested group was small, which is common in a school of this size. The pattern suggests math performance is a relative strength, while ELA is an area where a parent may want to learn more about how the school supports reading and writing development.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, no high school course access data, and no information about chronic absenteeism or discipline in the available records. The school does not operate as a charter or a magnet, and we do not have a confirmed Title I status.
Medora itself is a very small, predominantly residential town in a rural part of southern Indiana. Its economy historically centered on clay and brick manufacturing, but the last industrial plant closed in the 1990s. Today most employed residents work in manufacturing, retail, or health care, and a large share commute out of town. The housing market is modest. Median home values rose a bit in recent years but remain well below national averages, and the median household income in the broader context is lower than the national figure. The town is car-dependent, with little walkable infrastructure beyond a tiny commercial center at Main and Perry Streets, where the town hall and a branch of the county library are located. The area offers recreational access to the East Fork White River and Hoosier National Forest. Population has been slowly declining, and employment dropped noticeably in the most recent year for which data is available.
We looked for any recent changes or strategic initiatives within the Medora Community School Corporation that would matter to families, but the search did not turn up lasting parent-relevant developments. That is common for a very small district—there may be updates at the school board level that are not captured in the sources we had.
For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. It is a small rural elementary school with a STEM-themed identity, serving a predominantly white and economically mixed student body, and its math proficiency stands out relative to other schools in Jackson County. The town itself is quiet and slow-growing, with limited local employment and a housing stock that is more affordable than much of the country. The school does not have a high school, so families will eventually need to consider where students go after fifth grade—Medora Community School Corporation also includes a junior-senior high school, but that is a separate decision. A parent would want to ask about the actual STEM programming, how the school addresses early literacy, and what supports exist for students with special needs or who are learning English, since those details are not available here.
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