Virgil I Bailey Elementary School

Set in Lake Station, Indiana, Virgil I Bailey Elementary School is a modestly sized elementary campus, part of Lake Station Community Schools. It works with 235 students across grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 436 students per school, that is 46% smaller than typical.

Across the 3 schools in Lake Station Community Schools (1,030 students total), Virgil I Bailey Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Virgil I Bailey Elementary School reports that the most-represented group is Hispanic (45%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 34% White, 11% Black, 10% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 21% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.6:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 86% of students at Virgil I Bailey Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Lake County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Virgil I Bailey Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 14.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.7%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Lake County put median household income runs about $71,493, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Lake County's 121 public schools (combined enrollment of about 74,661 students), Virgil I Bailey Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Thomas An Edison Jr-Sr HS, roughly 0.7 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Virgil I Bailey Elementary School comes 4th of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 19.5%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 23%: 307 students in 2018 compared to 235 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share contracted from 48% to 34%. Class-load math has fell: from 19.2:1 in 2018 to 13.6:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.