Wilbur Wright Elementary School, New Castle IN

Original Research by School Decision on Wilbur Wright Elementary School

Wilbur Wright Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in New Castle, Indiana, as part of the New Castle Community School Corp. It is a regular public school with an enrollment that makes it a mid-sized elementary school for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and a smaller number of students who identify as two or more races, Black, Asian, or American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that many families in the attendance area experience economic need. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available.

Academically, state testing results from the ILEARN assessments show a mixed picture. In math, roughly two out of every five students met the proficiency benchmark, a rate that places the school below the midpoint among the half-dozen districts in Henry County when considering overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, the share meeting the proficiency benchmark was slightly lower. Science and social studies results, which are tested at specific grade levels, were similar in range. The school did not have a graduation rate to report; because it serves only elementary and middle grades, that metric does not apply here. A parent may want to ask the school directly about specific supports for students who are not yet at the proficiency level, particularly in reading and math.

New Castle itself is a small county-seat city with a history rooted in manufacturing and floriculture. Its population has been slowly declining over recent decades, and housing vacancy is present. Home values and rents in the area are below the Indiana state average, and by a wider margin below the national average, which makes the local housing market comparatively affordable. The typical monthly mortgage cost for a median-priced home is estimated to be lower than the national median rent, and rents are a modest share of the national median household income, reinforcing the area’s relative affordability. The city has a traditional downtown centered on the county courthouse and a compact grid layout. Civic anchors include the public library, parks, a municipal transit system, and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. The New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world, is a notable community gathering space. Major employers locally include the New Castle Correctional Facility, the school district, and some remaining manufacturing.

No recent district-level changes of lasting parent relevance, such as facility plans or curriculum shifts, were found in public reporting. For families considering this school, the academic profile suggests that a conversation about how the school addresses skill gaps would be worthwhile. The school operates within a district that serves the entire city, and the broader community offers a low-cost, small-town setting with a quiet pace of life.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-843%

School 43% · District 33% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

English language arts

Grades 3-836%

School 36% · District 31% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-840%

School 40% · District 39% · ▲ 1 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 29% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolNew Castle Community School Corp, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income47%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income45%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income42%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income58%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income28%Higher-income50%22 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income53%38 pp gap