James Whitcomb Riley Elem School

Located at 1201 Riley Rd, in New Castle, Indiana, James Whitcomb Riley Elem School is a close-knit primary school that teaches 246 students (grades pre-K through 6), run under New Castle Community School Corp. That puts it 44% leaner than the typical public school in Indiana, which averages around 436 students.

Across the 8 schools in New Castle Community School Corp (2,881 students total), James Whitcomb Riley Elem School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, James Whitcomb Riley Elem School shows that 89% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder breaks down as 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic, 3% Asian.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, James Whitcomb Riley Elem School has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.5:1 average. About 50% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, James Whitcomb Riley Elem School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 40.5%, the actual is 46.5%, a residual of +6.0 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Henry County) records that the typical household earns roughly $63,150 per year, about 18% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. James Whitcomb Riley Elem School is one of 21 public schools in Henry County (combined enrollment of about 7,081 students).

Nearest neighbor: New Castle High School, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), James Whitcomb Riley Elem School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 30.4%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Five-year trend. James Whitcomb Riley Elem School's enrollment has contracted 3% since 2018, when it stood at 253 (now 246). The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.