The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Math. The lowest is 53% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bailly Elementary School
Bailly Elementary School, part of the Duneland School Corporation, serves kindergarten through fourth grade in the small town of Chesterton, Indiana. The town sits roughly fifty miles southeast of Chicago, in a region known as the Duneland area for its proximity to the Indiana Dunes State and National Parks. Chesterton blends residential streets with a walkable downtown featuring art galleries, antique shops, and annual festivals. Its civic life centers on Broadway and Calumet Avenue, but the district’s schools, including Bailly, are on separate campuses spread across town rather than clustered downtown.
Bailly is one of five elementary schools in the district, all serving kindergarten through fourth grade. The district itself underwent a significant reorganization in 2024, when Chesterton Middle School permanently closed and students moved to Liberty and Westchester middle schools. That shift altered school assignments and feeder patterns for families. In 2025, voters approved a new operating referendum to fund teacher salaries, academic programs, and school safety, replacing an expiring one. These are changes a parent in the area would want to track, as they affect which buildings their child will attend and how the district is funded.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white. Hispanic students and Black students each make up smaller shares, and about two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a standard measure of economic need. The school does not report data for students with individualized education plans or English learners in the available information, so a parent with a child in either of those categories would want to ask the school directly about those supports.
Bailly’s state test results provide a picture of academic performance. On the ILEARN assessments, a strong majority of students scored proficient or above in math. In English language arts, just over half hit that mark. In science, which is tested only in fourth grade, a little more than half of students were proficient. When compared with other schools in the district’s county, Bailly’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls above the midpoint among the county’s districts. A parent weighing the school will see a solid performance in math and more mixed results in literacy and science.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It has no Title I status reported in the available data. Its grade band—kindergarten through fourth grade—means it has no graduation rate, because it does not serve high school students. The hallmark of Bailly’s academic offering is a consistent, middle-of-the-pack profile within its county, with a clear strength in math. A parent considering the school will also want to know how their child’s specific needs align with the school’s reported demographic and economic context, and what the school offers outside of test scores.
Chesterton’s housing market reflects a community that has grown steadily. Homes are priced above the state median, and rents are moderate relative to local incomes. The town functions partly as a commuter community, with a South Shore Line station providing rail access to Chicago and South Bend. Tourism related to the Indiana Dunes brings seasonal visitors and supports local hospitality and retail. For a family looking at Bailly, the broader community offers a small-town setting with trail access and a traditional downtown, while the school itself provides a solid foundation in the early grades within a county that has varied educational options.
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