The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bainbridge Elementary School
Bainbridge Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the North Putnam Community Schools district. The school sits in the very small incorporated town of Bainbridge, a rural Putnam County community on US Highway 36 that bills itself as the "Crossroads of Indiana." The town is compact, car-dependent, and residential, with residents who mostly commute to work alone and have an average drive time that suggests many leave town for employment. Manufacturing, construction, and retail trade are the largest local industries, and the town provides its own municipal utilities. The area is growing slowly, with a modest rise in population since the last census and an increase in median property values over a recent one-year period suggesting some upward pressure on housing.
The school itself is modest in enrollment size for an elementary serving through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with a very small share of students identifying as Hispanic and an even smaller share as two or more races. Other racial and ethnic groups are not represented in the reported enrollment. A very small fraction of students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch, a figure that is notably low and a parent may want to explore further with the school to understand how it aligns with the broader community's income profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.
On state assessments administered through Indiana's ILEARN, Bainbridge Elementary produced a mixed picture. In math, about half of students scored at the proficient level or above. In English language arts, the share was lower, with just over a third of students reaching that benchmark. Science results, which are tested at a single grade level, showed about half of students achieving proficiency. Social studies, also tested at a single grade level, matched the math rate at about half of students proficient. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index placed it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Putnam County, meaning its composite performance was above the middle of the pack among the county's seven districts. That said, the English language arts figure remains an area where a family may want to ask the school about its curriculum and support.
No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program launches, or facility plans, so the school's programming appears stable but without recent news to characterize.
For a family considering Bainbridge Elementary, the academic pattern is one where math and science results are stronger than reading outcomes, and the school's relative standing among county peers is favorable even if the raw proficiency rates leave room for growth. The community context is a quiet, slow-growth rural town where housing values have been rising and most adults work outside town. The school is a neighborhood fixture in a very small footprint, integrated into the town's fabric rather than set apart on a large campus. This is a setting that suits a family looking for a small-town elementary experience with a homogenous student population and a school where the academic profile is above average for the county but not uniformly strong across subjects.
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