Heavilin Elementary School

Heavilin Elementary School is a mid-tier K-5 school in Valparaiso, Indiana, operated by Valparaiso Community Schools. The school serves 479 students in grades K through 5.

Heavilin Elementary School is one of 11 schools operated by Valparaiso Community Schools, a district that enrolls 6,325 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Heavilin Elementary School shows that 75% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 14% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 4% Asian, 3% Black. By comparison, Porter County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.0:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. About 19% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Porter County runs at roughly 34%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Heavilin Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 62.2%; this one delivers 72.8%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Porter County put median household income runs about $87,972, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Heavilin Elementary School is one of 55 public schools in Porter County (combined enrollment of about 25,813 students).

The closest other public school is Benjamin Franklin Middle School, roughly 1.9 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Heavilin Elementary School. On composite proficiency, Heavilin Elementary School comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 66.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Five-year trend. Heavilin Elementary School's enrollment has edged down 5% since 2018, when it stood at 506 (now 479). White enrollment moved from 86% to 75% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 19.5:1 in 2018 to 16.0:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Heavilin Elementary School typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.