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What's the vibe like in the hallways at Stephen Decatur Elementary School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
496
Elementary
DISTRICT 502 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MSD DECATUR TOWNSHIP·NCES 180264000315
Stephen Decatur Elementary School
3425 S Foltz St, Indianapolis, IN 46221 · (317) 241-0183 · Marion County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL496 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% of Indiana public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Indiana public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
351 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 50%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 60 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 79 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 77 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 66 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 90 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 62 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (60) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (62).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 57% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
17.5%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
16.4%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 18 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Indiana schools, those numbers are about 39 and 41.
Source: ILEARN. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
18.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.5%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% typical for Indiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Indiana's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Stephen Decatur Elementary School
Stephen Decatur Elementary School's state test result (18.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Decatur Elementary School this school | 496 | 70.8% | 18.9% |
| Francis M Price Elementary School Fort Wayne | 405 | 68.6% | 33.8% |
| Veterans Elementary School at Mundell Hobart | 594 | 67.7% | 38.6% |
| Riverview Elementary School Marion | 393 | 74.0% | 34.9% |
| Franke Park Elementary School Fort Wayne | 416 | 72.8% | 28.8% |
| Vinton Elementary School Lafayette | 387 | 74.4% | 35.8% |
Matched among Indiana elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Stephen Decatur Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Marion County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.9% | #855 of 983 | #85 of 140 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.4% | #905 of 986 | #112 of 142 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 17.5% | #870 of 986 | #95 of 142 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 496 | #387 of 1,079 | #71 of 157 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #411 of 991 | #65 of 142 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.6% | #251 of 996 | #82 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.8% | #146 of 1,058 | #47 of 152 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.0% | #551 of 597 | #83 of 86 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
496
+36 (+8%) vs 2020
-34% since 1990-91, when it was 746
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 17.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 496 | 34 | 14.6:1 | 71% (351) |
| 2023-24 | 471 | 29.2 | 16.1:1 | 86% (404) |
| 2022-23 | 448 | 28.8 | 15.6:1 | 82% (367) |
| 2020-21 | 460 | 27 | 17.0:1 | 74% (339) |
| 2017-18 | 506 | 27 | 18.7:1 | 75% (377) |
| 2015-16 | 535 | 31 | 17.3:1 | 81% (433) |
| 2010-11 | 443 | 25 | 17.7:1 | 74% (328) |
| 2000-01 | 588 | 36 | 16.3:1 | 51% (302) |
| 1990-91 | 746 | 37 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Stephen Decatur Elementary School.
About Stephen Decatur Elementary School
Stephen Decatur Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in Indianapolis, Indiana. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 6, with 496 students enrolled.
MSD Decatur Township has 9 schools and 6,485 students, and Stephen Decatur Elementary School is one of those schools.
By race and ethnicity, Stephen Decatur Elementary School is 55% White. The rest of enrollment is 24% Hispanic, 12% Black, and 8% multiracial. The White share in Marion County as a whole is similar, at about 52%. The chance that two students picked at random at Stephen Decatur Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 62%.
The school reported 34 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 14.6:1. The 15.5:1 average for elementary schools in Indiana is higher than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 71% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The gap from the 60% average for public schools in Marion County is 11 points.
Measured against Indiana public elementary schools, Stephen Decatur Elementary School receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
After adjusting for student poverty, Stephen Decatur Elementary School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Indiana schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 18.9%; the prediction is 25.5%.
Census Bureau estimates for Marion County show that median household income is about $66,346, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 35% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. Stephen Decatur Elementary School is one of 274 public schools in Marion County, which together enroll about 161,456 students.
The shortest distance from Stephen Decatur Elementary School to another public school is about 0.8 miles, to Lynwood Elementary. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Stephen Decatur Elementary School is 5th among 8 schools close by.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Fringe: the school is in rural territory close to an urban area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 8%, from 460 to 496. The ratio was 17.0:1 in 2020-21 and 14.6:1 in 2024-25.
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Marion County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
975,809
Census ACS
Median income
$66,346
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
274
161,456 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MSD Decatur Township
- Decatur Central High SchoolHigh · 1,974 students
- Decatur Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,000 students
- Blue AcademyElementary · 687 students
- Lynwood ElementaryElementary · 583 students
- West Newton Elementary SchoolElementary · 559 students
- Valley Mills Elementary SchoolElementary · 554 students
Other schools in Indianapolis
- Indiana Connections AcademyCombined · 5,376 students
- North Central High SchoolHigh · 3,682 students
- Franklin Central High SchoolHigh · 3,438 students
- Warren Central High SchoolHigh · 3,391 students
- Ben Davis High SchoolHigh · 3,315 students
- Pike High SchoolHigh · 3,188 students
Other Stephen Decatur Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Stephen Decatur Elementary. Stephen Decatur Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Stephen Decatur Elementary SchoolSeattle, WA · 188 students
Nearby schools
- Lynwood Elementary0.8 mi · 583
- Lynhurst 7th & 8th Grade Center1.2 mi · 1,135
- Stout Field Elementary School1.4 mi · 617
- Achieve Virtual Education Academy2.0 mi · 668
- Gold Academy2.3 mi · 529
- Blue Academy2.3 mi · 687
Frequently asked questions
About Stephen Decatur Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Stephen Decatur Elementary School?
Stephen Decatur Elementary School enrolls approximately 496 students in grades KG-06.
Is Stephen Decatur Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Stephen Decatur Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Stephen Decatur Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Stephen Decatur Elementary School is approximately 14.6:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Stephen Decatur Elementary School?
At Stephen Decatur Elementary School, the student body is approximately 55% White, 24% Hispanic, 12% Black, 0% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Stephen Decatur Elementary School in?
Stephen Decatur Elementary School is part of MSD Decatur Township.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.