East Jay Elementary

Located at 225 E Water St, in Portland, Indiana, East Jay Elementary is a mid-tier elementary-level community that instructs 529 students (grades 3 through 6), part of Jay School Corporation. Enrollment runs roughly 21% larger than the state mean of about 436.

Within Jay School Corporation, which oversees 6 schools and 2,950 students, East Jay Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, East Jay Elementary records that nearly all students (83%) are White; the rest looks like 14% Hispanic. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 94%.

In terms of school funding signals, East Jay Elementary shows 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.5:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 65% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Jay County (around 55%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, East Jay Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Indiana public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 29.8%; East Jay Elementary posts 46.5%, +16.7 points above that line.

Zooming out to the county, Jay County reports that the typical household earns roughly $54,969 per year, 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Jay County runs 6 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,950 students), of which East Jay Elementary is one.

East Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts East Jay Elementary at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 56.3%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at East Jay Elementary has grew 79%, going from 296 students in 2018 to 529 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 91% to 83% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 19.7:1 in 2018 to 15.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the East Jay Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.