South Newton Middle School

South Newton Middle School operates as an one-room-style junior high in Kentland, Indiana, part of South Newton School Corp. Current enrollment sits at 191 students spanning grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 68% below the state mean of about 594.

Across the 3 schools in South Newton School Corp (846 students total), South Newton Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, South Newton Middle School shows that 82% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder is composed of 17% Hispanic.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, South Newton Middle School has 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.6:1, putting South Newton Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 47% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, South Newton Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 42.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 37.4%.

In the surrounding community, census data for Newton County shows median household income runs about $75,481, roughly 15% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Across Newton County's 7 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,850 students), South Newton Middle School is one campus in the mix.

South Newton Senior High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, South Newton Middle School comes 4th of 6 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 47.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 4%: 199 students in 2018 compared to 191 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 9.5:1 in 2018 to 13.2:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.