More than 35 Advanced Placement, Honors and Dual Credit (college-credit) courses are offered at the middle school and high school levels.

Self-contained high ability instruction for grades two through six at three or our elementary schools as well as high ability cluster grouping at all elementary schools. 

Students participate in a variety of academic competitions including Academic Decathlon, Speech and Debate, Spell Bowl, Math Pentathlon and Robotics.

In the past 9 years, 3 ECS teachers have been state finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year.

More than half of Elkhart's certified staff holds advanced degrees.

More than 95 percent of Elkhart educators have completed workshops hosted by the nationally renowned Center for Professional Assessment on Effective Teaching Strategies, Making Standards Work, and Data Teams. The goal of this training is to help teachers customize their instruction to individual students.

The school district's tax rate is the lowest among all Elkhart County school corporations.

Elkhart spends more for instruction and less for administration than the average Indiana school corporation.

Annual construction and/or renovation projects ensure facilities are up to date.

Continuous computer hardware and software upgrades provide students with the latest in educational technology.

Central High School Speech Team members Andrew Braden placed second in Original Oratory at the National  Forensic League's 2012 National Tournament in Indianapolis June 16. He received the President's Trophy for winning the final round of competition. Andy qualified for the national tournament by winning the Indiana Forensic League Tournament in March.

Ten Elkhart students had perfect scores on the 2012 ISTEP+ exam.

Pinewood's Math Bowl Team earned first place at the 2011 Regional Math Bowl, the fourth time it captured the regional title.

Central High School had two of the approximately 20 Wells Scholars. 2012 graduates Halle Hill and Andy Braden earned four-year full-tuition scholarships to Indiana University. The pair graduated first and second in their class at Central.

Commitment to children

Elkhart was one of the first districts in the state to provide a free, full-day program for every Kindergarten student.

Elkhart offers Head Start classes at five sites throughout the district.

Innovative schoolwide programs like Positive Behavior Support and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program promote peer conflict resolution and good citizenship.

Adult supervision is provided from early morning until evening through child-care, school clubs, family nights and other programs that bolster life skills.
 
ECS teachers participate in regular and coordinated staff development to enhance their ability to meet the educational needs of each child.

More than 2,000 volunteers from the community have signed up to provide tutoring and personal support to Elkhart students through the CARES program.

Lunch Mates model healthy eating habits in the cafeteria.

The DreamsWork program provides mentors for students and pays for their college tuition.

CARES volunteers raise funds to provide every ECS first-grade student with a book of their own, written by local volunteers and illustrated by Elkhart students.

The Superintendent's Advisory Council gives community members a voice in their schools.

The Superintendent's Student Advisory Council gives this same voice to Elkhart students.

Ample means of involvement for parents are available at the building level through participation on School Improvement Teams, Parent Teacher Associations and other volunteer organizations.

Elkhart's online student management system allows parents of middle and high school students to access their children's current grades, attendance, homework assignments and discipline records.

 For the second year in a row, the Elkhart Area Career Center qualified two teams for the 2012 Hot Rodder of Tomorrow "Showdown at SEMA" World Championship in Las Vegas. Each of the team members is guaranteed at least $5,000 in college scholarships for competing at the national tournament. This will be Elkhart's third time to vie for the national title. Elkhart finished second in the nation in 2009 and eighth and ninth in 2011. 

Career Center students earned 18 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 10 bronze medals at the 2012 State Skills USA Skills and Leadership Conference held in Indianapolis in April.  The gold medalists will compete at the Skills USA Championships in Kansas City, Mo. Eleven EACC students placeed in the top 10 of their division at the 2011 nationals. 

More than 300 of the Career Center's students earned industry-standard certification(s) in their chosen areas last school year.
 

Central High School's Orchestra and Choir Departments received the Indiana State School Music Association's 2011-2012 All-Music Award. Central's music department has received one of the all-state awards every year they've been presented in the past 10 years 

Memorial High School's Choir Department received the Indiana State School Music Association's 2011-2012 All-Music Award.

The Central High School Symphony Orchestra finished fourth at the 2012 ISSMA Concert Finals in Indianapolis in May. This marked the fifth year in a row and the 11th time in school history Central's orchestra has been a State Finalist. 
 
Central High School's Symphonic Band Symphony Orchestra performed at the 2011 Indiana Music Educators Association State Conference in Fort Wayne. Central was one of only two high school music groups in the state chosen for the conference. In addition, Elkhart was represented at the conference by two All-State orchestra members and seven All-State choir members.

Students from Elkhart Community Schools earned 28 Gold Keys, 21 Silver Keys, and 12 honorable mention awards at the 2012 Regional Scholastic Art competition.

Memorial High School's Dance Team won the 2012 state championship in the Hip Hop division. It was the school's second state title in three years.

Rich after-hours, summer-school and continuing education offerings:
 
More than 300 preschoolers are attending Kindergarten Club, a summer program designed to provide incoming kindergarten students with a successful start to their school career.

Summer field trip courses include earth science studies in Colorado, marine biology in Maine 
and U.S. history in Washington, D.C. 

After-school programming such as the 21st Century Learning Centers offer students a
wide variety of educational opportunities from homework assistance to career exploration
to development of personal interests. 

More than 2,000 adults are enrolled in continuing education courses including Adult Basic
Education and English As A New Language and community education classes that cover 
everything from Building A Website to Water Aerobics to French Cuisine. 


For a copy of Elkhart Community Schools' promotional DVD, e-mail communications@elkhart.k12.in.us.