West Newton Elementary School

West Newton Elementary School operates as a moderately sized elementary school in West Newton, Indiana, one of the schools within MSD Decatur Township. Current enrollment sits at 559 students spanning grades K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 436 students per school, that is 28% above typical.

Within MSD Decatur Township, which oversees 9 schools and 6,485 students, West Newton Elementary School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, West Newton Elementary School logs that the most-represented group is Black (43%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 34% White, 16% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 27% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 15.5:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 63% of students at West Newton Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, West Newton Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 31.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 28.1%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Marion County indicate median household income runs about $66,346, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Marion County's 274 public schools (combined enrollment of about 161,456 students), West Newton Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Decatur Central High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 2.4 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), West Newton Elementary School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, below the local average of 33.9%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 15%: 658 students in 2018 compared to 559 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 67% to 34%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 20.6:1 in 2018 to 15.5:1 today.

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