Education is taken seriously in the Evansville area, and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation works to make sure the school system runs at or above state standards. On the State Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and the Indiana Test of Educational Proficiencies, local students typically score above the national average in basic skills and above all Indiana urban school corporations on the proficiency tests. Eighty-three percent of the teaching staff have a master's degree or higher. The graduation rate is 89 percent, with 65 percent of these students going on to pursue higher education. In 1997, the Southern Indiana Japanese School opened at the request of Japanese companies locating in southwestern Indiana. The school enables the school-age children of Japanese employees to keep up with their peers in Japan and to help these children integrate smoothly into Japanese school life when they return to Japan.
The following is a summary of data regarding Evansville public schools as of the 2004–2005 school year.
Total enrollment: 22,139
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 20
middle schools: 12
senior high schools: 6
other: 3
Student/teacher ratio: 16.6:1
Teacher salaries
minimum: $30,294
maximum: $56,811
Funding per pupil: $8,700 (average 2003-2004)
The area also offers a system of private, parochial, and charter school opportunities. Evansville Day School is a privately-operated school on the east side of Evansville offering classes from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 to its more than 300 students. Parochial and other church-affiliated schools and a Montessori Academy offer complete educational programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Public Schools Information: Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, 1 S.E. Ninth Street, Evansville, IN 47708; telephone (812)435-8453
Evansville is home to two universities and a technical college. The University of Evansville, founded in 1854, is a private institution granting master's, baccalaureate, and two-year associate degrees on its 80-acre campus. With five colleges and schools, including a campus at Harlexton College in England, the university provides educational opportunities for 3,300 students in 80 academic areas. For the past 11 years in a row, the school has been named one of the top 10 "best buys" by US News and World Report.
The University of Southern Indiana, founded in 1965, awards baccalaureate and associate degrees in more than 80 fields, including engineering technology, business, nursing, liberal arts, and education. The school's 300-acre campus is utilized by 8,415 full and part-time students from all over the world.
Ivy Tech State College is a public, community-based technical college that schedules courses in programs leading to associate degrees in science and applied science as well as technical certificates. Its 3,900 students study five academic areas: business, health and human services, technology, visual technologies, and general education.
The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, founded in 1911, holds about 800,000 books, periodicals, CD-ROMs, CDs, audiovisual and audiotapes, films, slides, maps, and federal and state documents. The library operates seven branches in addition to the main library, with special interests including agriculture, business and management, economics, education, and religious studies; the Marcus and Mina Ravdin Memorial Collection is devoted to Judaica. The library also participates in the One Book/One Community program, which encourages residents throughout Southwestern Indiana to read the same book and participate in events and discussions.
The Willard Library of Evansville, founded in 1885, is the oldest operating library in the state of Indiana. It specializes in local history and genealogy as well as nineteenth-century periodical literature. Native Americans and Mississippi Indians are the focus at Angel Mounds State Historic Site Library. Fourteen other libraries in the city are operated by colleges and universities, corporations, the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, churches, hospitals, and government agencies.
Public Library Information: Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, 200 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Evansville, IN 47713; telephone (812)428-8200