Van Rensselaer Elementary School

Van Rensselaer Elementary School is one of the small K-5 schools in Rensselaer, Indiana, operated by Rensselaer Central School Corp, with 329 students on its rolls from grades 3 through 5. That puts it 25% leaner than the typical public school in Indiana, which averages around 436 students.

Rensselaer Central School Corp runs 4 schools in total, collectively educating 1,522 students. Van Rensselaer Elementary School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Van Rensselaer Elementary School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (84%). Beyond that, the school shows 12% Hispanic, 2% multiracial.

Looking at school resources, The school currently runs with 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 49% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Van Rensselaer Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 40.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 50.2%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Jasper County put the typical household earns roughly $77,314 per year, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Jasper County's 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,807 students), Van Rensselaer Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Rensselaer Central Middle School, roughly 0.2 miles away. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Van Rensselaer Elementary School at 2nd of 5; the average score across the group is 40.8%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Van Rensselaer Elementary School has changed only slightly, going from 330 students in 2018 to 329 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Van Rensselaer Elementary School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.