The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Social studies. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on William Fegely Middle School
William Fegely Middle School serves the city of Portage, Indiana, a heavily industrial city on the Lake Michigan shore whose economy has long been anchored by steel mills, the Port of Indiana–Burns Harbor, and a growing logistics sector. The school is one of two middle schools in the Portage Township Schools district, housing sixth through eighth grade in a regular public school setting.
The student body at Fegely is diverse in its composition. White students make up the largest share, followed by Hispanic students and then Black students, with smaller numbers of students identifying as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. This reflects Portage itself, a city whose residential areas grew from farmland subdivisions after World War II and which has become a place where a range of families live near large-scale industrial operations. The total enrollment is of a size typical for a middle school serving these three grade levels.
State assessment results from ILEARN, Indiana's regular statewide test, provide the most recent picture of academic performance. In math, just over one-fifth of students scored at the proficient level or above. In English language arts, the rate was moderately higher, with roughly three in ten students meeting that benchmark. Science proficiency, which is tested only in a single middle-school grade, showed a similar rate. Participation in the assessments was very high, above nine in ten students, which means the results are a solid reflection of the school's tested population. When compared to other districts across Porter County, Fegely sits in the bottom quartile on a combined proficiency index that averages performance across tested subjects and grades. This is the most direct available measure of how the school's academic results compare with its neighbors. A parent looking at these numbers will want to investigate what academic supports the school offers and how the school approaches instruction for students who are not yet at the proficient level.
The comparison fact-set includes data on graduation rate and chronic absenteeism, but those metrics were not available for this school. Since Fegely is a middle school only, and does not serve the grades that produce a graduation rate, that gap is expected. Chronic absenteeism data may simply not have been reported or collected in the same cycle; a parent might ask the school directly about attendance patterns.
The community context matters here. Portage is a car-dependent city of substantial land area, with neighborhoods spread across square miles of former farmland and industrial corridors. Housing values in the ZIP code are somewhat above the Indiana state benchmark, and rents have been rising. The city's downtown around Founders Square is described as a walkable mixed-use hub, but for daily life most errands require driving. The school is located on Stone Avenue, in a residential zone inland from the lakeshore industrial areas. Parents should expect that getting to and from the school will likely require a vehicle or bus transportation, and that after-school activities will rely on the same.
The district itself did not have any recent major changes publicly reported that would alter a family's sense of stability or direction. Portage Township Schools operates eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school, and Fegely sits within that established structure.
For a family weighing this school, the key takeaway is straightforward. Fegely serves a diverse mid-sized middle school population in a city shaped by industrial employment and suburban development. Its state test scores are below the median of the county's districts, which is a soft spot worth exploring with the school. The school does not offer a distinct magnet or charter program, and no information on course access, staffing ratios, or discipline rates was available in the data used here, so a parent would want to get a fuller picture of the classroom environment from a school visit or from talking to current families.
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