John I Meister Elementary School

John I Meister Elementary School, a reasonably sized elementary school in Hobart, Indiana, run under River Forest Community Sch Corp, hosts 373 students, covering grades K through 5.

Within River Forest Community Sch Corp, which oversees 4 schools and 1,707 students, John I Meister Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, John I Meister Elementary School lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 45%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest reads as 36% White, 11% Black, 7% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 21%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, John I Meister Elementary School has 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.6:1. The state averages around 15.5:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Lake County (around 47%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, John I Meister Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 23.9%, the actual is 14.9%, a residual of -9.0 points.

In the area at large, census data for Lake County shows the typical household earns roughly $71,493 per year, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. John I Meister Elementary School is one of 121 public schools in Lake County (combined enrollment of about 74,661 students).

Alexander Hamilton Elementary Sch is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around John I Meister Elementary School. On composite proficiency, John I Meister Elementary School comes 7th of 7 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 26.4%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at John I Meister Elementary School has showed little movement, going from 367 students in 2018 to 373 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment climbed from 6% to 11% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 19.3:1 in 2018 to 16.6:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.