About
Elkhart Community Schools is a public school district located in Elkhart, Indiana. The district serves approximately 12,000 students through 14 elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school. Additionally, Elkhart Community Schools is home to the award-winning Elkhart Area Career Center, a learning center for high school juniors and seniors with programs that position graduates for a successful career or transition to college.
Elkhart Community Schools is recognized for:
- The Elkhart Promise: Every student is known by name, supported and challenged by highly-effective staff, and in partnership with the community, will graduate career/college ready and life ready.
- Innovative “Schools of Study” model that provides high school students with a better understanding of their future career goals through six schools of study: Arts & Communication; Business and International Relations; Engineering, Technology, and Innovation; Health & Public Safety; Human Services; and Natural Resources. Students are taught the state-required curriculum through the lens of their school of study, providing them with a firm foundation of their fields of interest.
- Early College Programs with full endorsement from the Indiana University Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) at Elkhart High School and the Elkhart Area Career Center. The Elkhart Area Career Center was the first career center in the state to achieve this endorsement. Elkhart High School (Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial) was the first high school in northern Indiana to achieve this endorsement.
- Elkhart Area Career Center that serves over 1,000 students from the surrounding area by providing hands-on curriculum in collaboration with hundreds of local businesses. EACC students were the first at the district to earn Associates’ Degrees from college prior to high school graduation.
- Elkhart High School’s robust internship program that partners high school students with local businesses and organizations in workplace learning.
- Commitment to Social-Emotional Learning and Trauma-Informed Care for students at all grade levels, with the recognition that not every child walks in the door of our buildings ready to learn. Our team of educators and support staff have completed hours of training to recognize trauma and provide support to students who need help preparing for the rigors of learning.
- SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol)-trained staff who are empowered to recognize language and comprehension gaps, and to plan instructional strategies for full inclusion for students of all language levels and abilities.
- School Without Walls blended online and in-person program designed to help students who will not excel in a traditional classroom setting.