The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Social studies. The lowest is 36% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on North Judson-san Pierre Elem Sch
North Judson-San Pierre Elementary serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade in the small rural town of North Judson, Indiana, part of the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation. The school occupies its own campus away from the modest downtown core, where civic life centers on Lane and Main Streets and where the annual Mint Festival draws the community together each Father’s Day weekend. North Judson is a tight-knit town with a population that has seen a slight decline in recent years. Its roots are in railroading, and the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum preserves that heritage. The area offers a traditional small-town grid, a WPA-built park, a short walking trail, and a handful of recreational amenities. For most daily needs, residents rely on cars, though the compact layout supports limited walkability within the town.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary building serving these grade levels. A substantial share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a context where economic need is present for roughly half the student body. Racially and ethnically, the student population is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic minority and a very small number of Asian and multiracial students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent may wish to ask the school directly about those support structures.
On state assessments, the school’s performance is mixed. In reading and math, the share of students scoring proficient or above is below the majority mark. A parent looking for a school where most students meet state benchmarks will find these numbers a soft spot. Performance in science and social studies is stronger, approaching the majority mark in science and exceeding it slightly for the fifth-grade social studies test. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint among the three districts in Starke County, falling in the top quartile of that set. That county-level comparison is a narrow field, but it indicates that within the local area this school’s test results are on the stronger side despite the below-majority rates in the core subjects. The school’s participation rates on the tests were near universal, so the results reflect the full student body.
Because the school ends at sixth grade, families will need to plan for the transition to the corporation’s junior/senior high school for later grades. The district brief turned up no major recent changes that would affect parents’ planning, such as boundary adjustments, program additions, or facility projects. The district itself covers the communities of North Judson and San Pierre and operates a single high school, so the elementary feeds into a relatively straightforward pipeline.
Housing in the area is affordable relative to national benchmarks. Home values in the zip code have risen modestly in the past year, and the local market is much less expensive than the national median. The town’s slight population decline suggests limited development pressure; no new large housing or commercial projects were identified. Residents looking for a slower-growth rural setting with a strong sense of local tradition will find that here.
The school’s environment data—discipline rates, attendance, staffing ratios, and course access—was either not reported or not available in the source data. These are gaps a parent may want to fill by speaking with school staff or visiting. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it operates under the governance of the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation. No Title I status was listed, though the share of students receiving free or reduced-price meals suggests the school may qualify for federal support programs.
In sum, North Judson-San Pierre Elementary offers a stable, small-town setting with a student body that is economically diverse and largely white, academic results that are below majority proficiency in reading and math but comparatively strong within Starke County, and a straightforward progression to the local junior/senior high school. The missing pieces on special populations and school climate metrics are worth investigating. Families who value a close-knit rural community with moderate housing costs and a school that performs reasonably well in its local context will find a fit here. Those seeking high absolute proficiency rates or a wide array of specialized programs may want to explore further.
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