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If you had an hour of school board time for Benjamin Franklin Middle School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
823
Middle
DISTRICT 728 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VALPARAISO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 181197001881
Benjamin Franklin Middle School
605 Campbell, Valparaiso, IN 46385 · (219) 531-3020 · Porter County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL823 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 15.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
202 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 50%
Community
4
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 271 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 257 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 295 | 36% |
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 57% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Benjamin Franklin Middle School→Valparaiso High School
Based on grade levels within Valparaiso Community Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
61.9%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
60.2%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Indiana schools, those numbers are about 39 and 41.
Source: ILEARN. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
62.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.2%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% typical for Indiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Indiana's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Benjamin Franklin Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Porter County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.5% | #20 of 324 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.2% | #25 of 325 | #5 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #19 of 325 | #4 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 823 | #72 of 334 | #2 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #147 of 314 | #8 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 37.5% | #174 of 315 | #8 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.1% | #90 of 110 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
823
+25 (+3%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 15.4:1
% White
78%
was 81%
% Hispanic
13%
was 11%
% Black
2%
was 2%
% Asian
2%
was 2%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 823 | 56 | 14.7:1 | 25% (202) |
| 2023-24 | 806 | 57 | 14.1:1 | 22% (180) |
| 2022-23 | 821 | 50.7 | 16.2:1 | 22% (182) |
| 2017-18 | 798 | 51.7 | 15.4:1 | 21% (168) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benjamin Franklin Middle School.
About Benjamin Franklin Middle School
Benjamin Franklin Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle school in Valparaiso, Indiana. Enrollment is 823 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 6 through 8. Against the 594-student average for middle schools in Indiana, enrollment here is 39% higher.
Valparaiso Community Schools has a total of 11 schools and 6,325 students, Benjamin Franklin Middle School among them.
White students account for 78% of enrollment at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. The remaining students are 13% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 2% Asian, and 2% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Benjamin Franklin Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 38%.
The school has about 14.7 students per teacher and 56 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among middle schools in Indiana is 15.6:1, higher than at this school. About 25% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. That is lower than the 34% average for public schools in Porter County.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (62.5%) and its predicted rate (58.2%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Indiana schools.
In Porter County (population about 174,818), median household income is about $87,972, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 55 public schools operate in Porter County, serving about 25,813 students.
Central Elementary School is the closest public school, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line. Benjamin Franklin Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. The nearest schools with test data average 68.2%, higher than Benjamin Franklin Middle School's 62.5%.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School falls in the Suburb: Small locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000.
Benjamin Franklin Middle School saw enrollment rise 3% between 2017-18 and 2024-25.
Discussions about Benjamin Franklin Middle School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Porter County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
174,818
Census ACS
Median income
$87,972
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
55
25,813 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Valparaiso Community Schools
- Valparaiso High SchoolHigh · 2,089 students
- Thomas Jefferson Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Cooks Corners Elementary SchoolElementary · 487 students
- Heavilin Elementary SchoolElementary · 479 students
- Flint Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 476 students
- Memorial Elementary SchoolElementary · 434 students
Other schools in Valparaiso
- Valparaiso High SchoolHigh · 2,089 students
- Thomas Jefferson Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Cooks Corners Elementary SchoolElementary · 487 students
- Heavilin Elementary SchoolElementary · 479 students
- Flint Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 476 students
- Boone Grove High SchoolHigh · 467 students
Nearby schools
- Central Elementary School0.3 mi · 131
- Memorial Elementary School0.4 mi · 434
- Northview Elementary School0.7 mi · 276
- Parkview Elementary School1.2 mi · 213
- Thomas Jefferson Middle School1.3 mi · 632
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary School1.4 mi · 285
Frequently asked questions
About Benjamin Franklin Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Benjamin Franklin Middle School?
Benjamin Franklin Middle School enrolls approximately 823 students in grades 06-08.
Is Benjamin Franklin Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Benjamin Franklin Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Benjamin Franklin Middle School have?
Benjamin Franklin Middle School employs 56 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Benjamin Franklin Middle School?
Student demographics at Benjamin Franklin Middle School are roughly 78% White, 13% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Benjamin Franklin Middle School in?
Benjamin Franklin Middle School is part of Valparaiso Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.