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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH SPENCER COUNTY SCH CORP·NCES 180801001375

David Turnham Education Center

Dunn & Locust Sts, Dale, IN 47523 · (812) 937-4300 · Spencer County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL299 STUDENTS
Enrollment
299
Elementary
DISTRICT 298 · STATE 436
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
156 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 50%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Pre-K
39
Kindergarten
23
Grade 1
41
Grade 2
34
Grade 3
40
Grade 4
49
Grade 5
40
Grade 6
33
Student demographics
White
20870%
DISTRICT 89% · STATE 62%
Hispanic
8729%
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 15%
Black
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 14%
Two+
31%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 6%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
14850%
Female
15151%

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Test scores

ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above Proficiency
English Language Arts
51.8%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
56.0%
IN avg 41.1%
Source: ILEARN. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
52.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.6%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.2pp
above demographic expectation
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

7-year change

SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
299
-8 (-3%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 15.3:1
% White
70%
was 75%
% Hispanic
29%
was 22%
% Black
0%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

About David Turnham Education Center

Located at Dunn & Locust Sts, in Dale, Indiana, David Turnham Education Center is a close-knit primary school that serves 299 students (grades pre-K through 6), one of the schools within North Spencer County Sch Corp. By comparison, Indiana's public schools average about 436 students each, so David Turnham Education Center sits 31% below that benchmark.

Across the 6 schools in North Spencer County Sch Corp (2,166 students total), David Turnham Education Center accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, David Turnham Education Center logs that the largest single group is White, at 70% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 29% Hispanic. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 94%.

On the resource side, David Turnham Education Center reports 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 52% of students at David Turnham Education Center qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Spencer County (around 38%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, David Turnham Education Center performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 38.6%, the actual is 52.8%, a residual of +14.2 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Spencer County indicate the typical household earns roughly $74,506 per year, about 22% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Spencer County runs 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,231 students), of which David Turnham Education Center is one.

Nearest neighbor: Heritage Hills Middle School, around 3.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. On composite proficiency, David Turnham Education Center comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 56.7%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Over the past 7-year window. David Turnham Education Center's enrollment has decreased 3% since 2018, when it stood at 307 (now 299). Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 22% to 29%.

On this page, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.

Spencer County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
19,955
Census ACS
Median income
$74,506
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
3,231 students

Quick facts

School name
David Turnham Education Center
District
North Spencer County Sch Corp
Address
Dunn & Locust Sts, Dale, IN 47523
Phone
(812) 937-4300
County
Spencer County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–06
Total enrollment
299
Teachers (FTE)
19
Student–teacher ratio
16.1:1
Free/Reduced lunch
156 (52%)
Locale
42-Rural: Distant
NCES ID
180801001375
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in North Spencer County Sch Corp
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About David Turnham Education Center
How many students attend David Turnham Education Center?
David Turnham Education Center enrolls approximately 299 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does David Turnham Education Center serve?
David Turnham Education Center serves grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at David Turnham Education Center?
The student-to-teacher ratio at David Turnham Education Center is approximately 16.1:1 (19 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at David Turnham Education Center?
At David Turnham Education Center, the student body is approximately 70% White, 29% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is David Turnham Education Center public or private?
David Turnham Education Center is a public K-12 school, overseen by North Spencer County Sch Corp.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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