Is Liberty Elementary School a good school?

Liberty Elementary School ranks in the bottom 16.5% of Indiana elementary schools.

How many students attend Liberty Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 422 students attended Liberty Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Liberty Elementary School?

Students at Liberty Elementary School are 59% White, 18% African American, 12% Two or more races, 11% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Liberty Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Liberty Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : John J Young Middle School High : Mishawaka High School

Liberty Elementary School

Summary:

Liberty Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Mishawaka, Indiana, serving 417 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the School City of Mishawaka district, which is ranked 257 out of 381 districts in Indiana and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Liberty Elementary faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 19.1% to 39.2% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school also consistently underperforms compared to the School City of Mishawaka district and the state of Indiana in both English Language Arts and Math proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, only 18.82% of 3rd-grade students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 29.71% for the district and 38.6% for the state. Additionally, Liberty Elementary has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 60.37% to 79.86% over the past few years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

When comparing Liberty Elementary to other nearby schools in the same district, such as Twin Branch Elementary, it becomes clear that Liberty is an underperforming school. Twin Branch consistently outperforms Liberty in test scores and has lower chronic absenteeism rates. Despite the relatively high per-student spending at Liberty Elementary, ranging from $7,742 to $9,396 over the past few years, the school has not shown significant improvement in its academic performance over the past several years, and its ranking among Indiana elementary schools has steadily declined.

Detail:

Public K-6

600 E Pregel Dr
Mishawaka, IN 46545

(574) 254-3700

District: School City of Mishawaka

SchoolDigger Rank:
843^rd of 1,010 Indiana Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,396

Students who attend Liberty Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	John J Young Middle School
High:	Mishawaka High School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.7

Number of students: 422

Racial breakdown:

White:

58.8%

African American:

17.8%

Two or more races:

12.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 72.5%

See top rated Indiana elementary schools

Compare Liberty Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Liberty Elementary School ranks worse than 83.5% of elementary schools in Indiana. It also ranks 5^th among 7 ranked elementary schools in the School City of Mishawaka District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 17.18. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Liberty Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (58.8%), African American (17.8%), two or more races (12.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 72.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Liberty Elementary School is 15.7. 4 elementary schools in the School City of Mishawaka District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Liberty Elementary School employs 26.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Liberty Elementary School is $9,396. 3 elementary schools in the School City of Mishawaka District spend more per student.

Schooldigger Rankings:

Liberty Elementary School was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

School City of Mishawaka:

SchoolDigger ranks School City of Mishawaka 257^th of 381 Indiana school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Liberty Elementary School.

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Rank History for Liberty Elementary School

Compare

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IN State Percentile
2004	27.12	280^th	326	14.1%
2005	30.51	767^th	959	20.0%
2006	37.44	689^th	961	28.3%
2007	46.47	624^th	985	36.6%
2008	45.98	647^th	996	35.0%
2009	56.90	502^nd	1003	50.0%
2010	59.40	476^th	1009	52.8%
2011	50.88	616^th	1025	39.9%
2012	59.66	464^th	1015	54.3%
2013	72.74	252^nd	1035	75.7%
2014	67.69	349^th	1036	66.3%
2015	61.70	432^nd	1040	58.5%
2016	56.10	524^th	1046	49.9%
2017	42.28	669^th	1033	35.2%
2018	40.49	696^th	1027	32.2%
2019	29.63	780^th	1031	24.3%
2021	24.06	784^th	1016	22.8%
2022	20.44	818^th	1020	19.8%
2023	21.69	805^th	1016	20.8%
2024	17.18	843^rd	1010	16.5%

See the entire list of Indiana Elementary School Rankings!

Data source: test scores: Indiana Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Data source: Indiana Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, October 11, 2018

My child is having a difficult and miserable experience there. My child’s teacher promotes a bullying behavior within the classroom as they are setting the tone. My child has been insulted and made fun of by his teacher multiple times in front of other students. I cannot recommend this school. The leadership is not on par with other schools that my child has previously attended. They make no effort to teach the children manners in a proper tone, rather just call them names such as immature, ridiculous, or silly. In general, my child’s teacher is loud, rude, over the top, and self involved.

When questions have been presented to the school regarding paperwork that has been sent home for parents regarding extra curricular activity or even daily scheduled events, no one in the office nor even my child’s teacher is aware of the scheduled events.

The school chose to not follow through on the calendar scheduled ‘learn to be kind to fellow students/anti bullying’ assembly, which they could REALLY use, considering the way the students speak to each other. My child’s teacher wasn’t even aware of it on the school monthly calendar when my child asked about it on the day it was scheduled to happen and responded that they had no idea what he was even talking about. Pretty sad...

The teaching style is very loose, perhaps non existent being a more accurate depiction, as my child is taught on a self learning assignment based method.

Worst school I’ve ever had encountered, personally. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Liberty Elementary School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2000	419	10	7	6	4	n/a	n/a	0	446
2001	406	18	10	10	6	n/a	n/a	0	450
2002	449	29	11	26	3	n/a	n/a	0	518
2003	449	29	11	26	3	n/a	n/a	0	518
2004	416	27	8	28	3	n/a	n/a	0	482
2005	369	11	9	37	3	n/a	n/a	0	429
2006	355	29	8	35	6	n/a	n/a	0	433
2007	292	35	9	26	4	n/a	n/a	36	402
2008	292	49	5	24	4	n/a	n/a	52	426
2009	267	34	4	32	5	n/a	n/a	42	384
2010	264	40	2	28	5	n/a	n/a	41	380
2011	273	38	6	31	5	0	45	0	398
2012	301	40	6	38	6	0	40	0	431
2013	337	48	6	41	6	0	44	0	482
2014	344	53	5	39	4	0	44	0	489
2015	312	49	7	38	4	1	46	0	457
2016	313	64	4	46	3	0	43	0	473
2017	316	81	5	45	2	0	51	0	500
2018	322	79	3	46	1	0	49	0	500
2019	300	84	1	47	1	0	60	0	493
2020	273	83	1	49	4	0	61	0	471
2021	251	65	1	39	4	1	75	0	436
2022	242	69	1	44	0	1	72	0	429
2023	235	65	0	60	1	0	56	0	417
2024	248	75	0	46	1	0	52	0	422

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Liberty Elementary School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2000	446	26.3	17.0	n/a
2001	450	26.1	17.2	n/a
2002	518	29.5	17.6	51.9
2003	518	29.5	17.6	51.9
2004	482	29.7	16.2	58.9
2005	429	27.7	15.5	67.4
2006	433	27.1	16.0	59.1
2007	402	n/a	n/a	62.3
2008	426	28.1	15.2	70.3
2009	384	26.4	14.5	71.6
2010	380	26.0	14.6	76.4
2011	398	24.5	16.2	71.4
2012	431	30.0	14.3	69.1
2013	482	30.0	16.0	70.7
2014	489	29.0	16.8	72
2015	457	25.0	18.2	73.3
2016	473	26.0	18.1	75.5
2017	500	26.0	19.2	76.4
2018	500	26.7	18.6	73.8
2019	493	27.0	18.2	72.8
2020	471	27.0	17.4	70.7
2021	436	34.0	12.8	67.4
2022	429	27.3	15.6	60.4
2023	417	27.8	14.9	79.9
2024	422	26.7	15.7	72.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Liberty Elementary School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2000	446	26.3	17.0	n/a
2001	450	26.1	17.2	n/a
2002	518	29.5	17.6	51.9
2003	518	29.5	17.6	51.9
2004	482	29.7	16.2	58.9
2005	429	27.7	15.5	67.4
2006	433	27.1	16.0	59.1
2007	402	n/a	n/a	62.3
2008	426	28.1	15.2	70.3
2009	384	26.4	14.5	71.6
2010	380	26.0	14.6	76.4
2011	398	24.5	16.2	71.4
2012	431	30.0	14.3	69.1
2013	482	30.0	16.0	70.7
2014	489	29.0	16.8	72
2015	457	25.0	18.2	73.3
2016	473	26.0	18.1	75.5
2017	500	26.0	19.2	76.4
2018	500	26.7	18.6	73.8
2019	493	27.0	18.2	72.8
2020	471	27.0	17.4	70.7
2021	436	34.0	12.8	67.4
2022	429	27.3	15.6	60.4
2023	417	27.8	14.9	79.9
2024	422	26.7	15.7	72.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Liberty Elementary School

Year	Expenditures from Federal Funds	Expenditures from State and Local Funds	Total Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019	$759 (9.8%)	$6,982 (90.2%)	$7,742
2020	$708 (8.9%)	$7,206 (91.0%)	$7,915
2021	$961 (11.2%)	$7,599 (88.8%)	$8,560
2022	$1,915 (20.4%)	$7,481 (79.6%)	$9,396

Data source: Indiana Department of Education

Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Liberty Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Rank Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Ranks 780^th of 1031 Elementary schools	Ranks 805^th of 1016 Elementary schools	3.6%

Test Scores

	% proficient Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	% proficient Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Liberty Elementary School)	25	11.5	13.5%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (School City of Mishawaka)	33.8	26.9	6.9%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Indiana)	46.3	39.7	6.6%
3rd Grade Math (Liberty Elementary School)	32.8	19.2	13.6%
3rd Grade Math (School City of Mishawaka)	46.9	36.8	10.1%
3rd Grade Math (Indiana)	58.7	53.1	5.6%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Liberty Elementary School)	33.3	26.5	6.8%
4th Grade English Language Arts (School City of Mishawaka)	26	27.9	1.9%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Indiana)	45.8	40.3	5.5%
4th Grade Math (Liberty Elementary School)	44.4	30.9	13.5%
4th Grade Math (School City of Mishawaka)	33.6	37.2	3.6%
4th Grade Math (Indiana)	54	48.8	5.2%
4th Grade Science (Liberty Elementary School)	34.7	26.5	8.2%
4th Grade Science (School City of Mishawaka)	30.2	26.8	3.4%
4th Grade Science (Indiana)	46.3	37	9.3%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Liberty Elementary School)	28.3	24.6	3.7%
5th Grade English Language Arts (School City of Mishawaka)	35.6	29.2	6.4%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Indiana)	47.5	40.2	7.3%
5th Grade Math (Liberty Elementary School)	21.7	23.1	1.4%
5th Grade Math (School City of Mishawaka)	34.6	29.7	4.9%
5th Grade Math (Indiana)	47.8	41.1	6.7%
5th Grade Social Studies (Liberty Elementary School)	21.7	13.9	7.9%
5th Grade Social Studies (School City of Mishawaka)	37.2	24.7	12.5%
5th Grade Social Studies (Indiana)	46	39.1	6.9%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Liberty Elementary School)	56.5	16.3	40.2%
6th Grade English Language Arts (School City of Mishawaka)	35.4	29.3	6.1%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Indiana)	47.8	40.8	7%
6th Grade Math (Liberty Elementary School)	38.7	24.5	14.2%
6th Grade Math (School City of Mishawaka)	31.6	28.7	2.9%
6th Grade Math (Indiana)	46.4	38.3	8.1%
6th Grade Science (Liberty Elementary School)	41.9	18.4	23.5%
6th Grade Science (School City of Mishawaka)	31.1	26	5.1%
6th Grade Science (Indiana)	48.6	38.2	10.4%

Student Body

	Number of students Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Number of students Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Total Students	493	417	15.4%
African American	84	65	22.6%
American Indian	1	1
Asian	1	0	100%
Hispanic	47	60	27.7%
Pacific Islander	0	0
White	300	235	21.7%
Two or More Races	60	56	6.7%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	72.8%	79.9%	7%

Schools Near Liberty Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2024)					ILEARN Math (2024)					ILEARN Social Studies (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Liberty Elementary School	Public	K-6	600 E Pregel Dr	Mishawaka	46545	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 254-3700	422	27	15.7	72.5%	248 (58.8%)	75 (17.8%)	46 (10.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (12.3%)	17.2	843^rd of 1010 public elementary schools	16.5%		21.7	805^th of 1016 public elementary schools	20.8%	38	21.9	17.5	22.4	14.3	18.8	27.0	23.8	20.9	16.9	21.9	16.4	$9,396	$1,915	$7,481
Battell Elementary School	Public	K-6	715 E Broadway	Mishawaka	46545	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 254-3900	305	22	13.9	68.9%	183 (60.0%)	56 (18.4%)	24 (7.9%)	3 (1.0%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	36 (11.8%)	24.6	772^nd of 1010 public elementary schools	23.6%		42.2	614^th of 1016 public elementary schools	39.6%	158	13.3	16.2	30.2	25.0	21.0	26.7	24.3	34.9	31.3	29.3	18.6	$10,463	$2,121	$8,342
Walt Disney Elementary School	Public	K-5	4015 N Filbert Rd	Mishawaka	46545	St. Joseph County	Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 259-2486	521	32	16.3	55.1%	198 (38.0%)	155 (29.8%)	65 (12.5%)	43 (8.3%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (10.9%)	60.9	402^nd of 1010 public elementary schools	60.2%		47.8	560^th of 1016 public elementary schools	44.9%	158	40.2	46.1	40.2		42.2	51.2	59.6	43.5		51.3	35.9	$9,386	$1,012	$8,374
Beiger Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1600 E Third St	Mishawaka	46544	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 254-4700	498	28	17.5	60.8%	354 (71.1%)	43 (8.6%)	49 (9.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (10.0%)	40.6	624^th of 1010 public elementary schools	38.2%		41.1	627^th of 1016 public elementary schools	38.3%	3	26.2	22.2	48.4	18.2	29.0	31.2	23.6	48.4	29.1	32.9	51.6	$9,171	$1,787	$7,384
Paramount School of Excellence South Bend	Public, Charter	K-8	3414 Hepler Street	South Bend	46635	St. Joseph County	Paramount School of Excellence South Bend	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(317) 519-4588	317	22	14.4	71.0%	66 (20.8%)	182 (57.4%)	32 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (11.0%)	18.7	829^th of 1010 public elementary schools	17.9%					(n/a)	16.1	19.1	21.3	33.3	22.6	9.7	33.3	12.8	20.5	19.5	6.4
Nuner Fine Arts Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	2716 Pleasant St	South Bend	46615	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 393-2600	468	38	12.4	64.1%	152 (32.5%)	171 (36.5%)	70 (15.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	73 (15.6%)	9.3	939^th of 1010 public elementary schools	7.0%		8.1	946^th of 1016 public elementary schools	6.9%	7	14.0	18.8	11.1		14.8	12.3	18.8	6.4		12.7	11.1	$14,165	$3,128	$11,037
Emmons Elementary School	Public	K-6	1306 S Main St	Mishawaka	46544	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 254-4600	469	31	15.3	80.0%	214 (45.6%)	115 (24.5%)	65 (13.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	73 (15.6%)	16.9	848^th of 1010 public elementary schools	16.0%		17.2	847^th of 1016 public elementary schools	16.6%	1	15.5	16.0	20.8	17.5	17.7	34.5	30.0	23.4	11.1	24.2	10.4	$9,691	$2,039	$7,651
Elsie Rogers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	56219 Currant Rd	Mishawaka	46545	St. Joseph County	Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 259-5231	393	20	19.3	37.4%	307 (78.1%)	6 (1.5%)	33 (8.4%)	13 (3.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.9%)	79.3	192^nd of 1010 public elementary schools	81.0%		73	262^nd of 1016 public elementary schools	74.2%	70	46.9	58.8	66.7		57.1	59.4	58.8	61.7		60.0	45.0	$8,205	$758	$7,446
Lasalle Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1511 Milburn Blvd	Mishawaka	46544	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 254-4800	494	32	15.5	77.7%	270 (54.7%)	86 (17.4%)	57 (11.5%)	6 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (15.2%)	14	884^th of 1010 public elementary schools	12.5%		10.9	906^th of 1016 public elementary schools	10.8%	22	10.5	27.1	13.9	10.5	15.3	23.9	32.2	12.3	17.2	21.3	6.2	$9,323	$2,233	$7,091
McKinley Elementary School	Public	K-5	228 N Greenlawn Ave	South Bend	46617	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(574) 393-3300	471	39	12.1	76.6%	73 (15.5%)	102 (21.7%)	227 (48.2%)	10 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (12.3%)	7.2	966^th of 1010 public elementary schools	4.4%		9.7	916^th of 1016 public elementary schools	9.8%	50	10.6	8.3	10.0		9.7	19.7	2.8	8.0		9.7	12.0	$14,633	$3,918	$10,715

Liberty Elementary School

School City of Mishawaka:

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Rank History for Liberty Elementary School

Review counts

Enrollment information for Liberty Elementary School

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Liberty Elementary School

Student/Teacher Ratio Liberty Elementary School

Per Pupil Expenditures for Liberty Elementary School

Impact of COVID-19 on Liberty Elementary School

Rankings

Test Scores

Student Body

Schools Near Liberty Elementary School