People yearn to grow, to learn, to better themselves and their communities. That is reflected in the wealth of educational opportunities for Wayne County residents and students. As a supporter of life-long learning, we also offer programs and organizations that provide assistance to individuals who have not previously received a degree or certification.
FSSA Child Care Finder
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) has developed a website to assist parents in their search for child care. The website provides a list of child care providers in a specific area that are either licensed or registered with the agency. The website also has a convenient On-My-Route feature.
Huffer Child Care Resource and Referral
Huffer provides free, personalized referrals for families with infants and toddlers. An Outreach Specialist will work with families to verify vacancies and ensure a provider is able to meet your needs. The service also assists families with a child who may have special needs or unique challenges. Services are free and confidential.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County
• Jeffers Club (Richmond)
• Central Club (Richmond)
• Fairview Club (Richmond)
• Westside Club (Richmond)
• Hagerstown Club
Many school districts offer after school programs for their students.
The Centerville-Abington Community Schools Corporation serves approximately 1,781 students in four schools: Rose Hamilton Elementary School, Centerville-Abington Elementary School, Centerville Junior High School, and Centerville Senior High School.
The school corporation maintains a long history as one of the highest performing systems in Wayne County and in East Central Indiana. All four schools are designated as “Four-Star Schools” by the Indiana Department of Education. In order to be eligible for this designation, a school must receive an “A” on the state’s A-F accountability system, have excellent ISTEP pass rates, carry an overall high graduation rate, and show success in closing achievement gaps.
Centerville-Abington Community Schools is the only school corporation in Wayne County to receive the Department of Education’s designation in each school.
Students come first at Centerville-Abington Community Schools, and decisions are made to serve the individual needs of every student. A forward-thinking vision inspires and empowers students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens. Beginning in pre-school and continuing to junior high and high school, students are given the tools, resources, and support to be active and engaged learners throughout all stages of their educational journey.
First-class and state-of-the-art facilities are an integral part of the learning environment at Centerville-Abington Community Schools. The high school includes remodeled structures that now encompass four new science rooms, a wellness center, 36 classrooms, a family and consumer science area, two gymnasiums, a guidance area, a pool, an auditorium, two music areas, a library, a kitchen, and a cafetorium.
All schools, from pre-K to high school, are designed to be centers of learning and supported by students, parents, staff, and the community. A rigorous curriculum, which meets all national and state standards, ensures students are college and career ready. At Centerville Senior High School, this is further enhanced through The Whitewater Technical Center (WCC). The WCC offers 13 career programs for high school juniors and seniors. Whether students choose to go directly from high school to college, work, the military, an apprenticeship, or any combination of these, the goal is to help students prepare for the next chapter in their life. At WCC, students gain the experience to make informed career decisions and the skills and knowledge to be successful.
Students also have access to postsecondary opportunities at Ivy Tech, IU East, Purdue at IU East, and Earlham College with online classes through PLATO.
In addition to academic offerings, Centerville-Abington Community Schools provides an array of extra-curricular activities, including soccer, swimming, bowling, and musical programs. Before and after-school childcare also is available in each elementary school.
Beyond outstanding academic and extracurricular offerings, Centerville-Abington Community Schools has the backing and support of the community. Partnerships and ongoing collaborations with area businesses, organizations, and employees give students access to real-world knowledge and hands-on experiences.
Located in Hagerstown, Indiana, the Nettle Creek School Corporation serves 1,096 students from Dalton, Economy, Greens Fork, Hagerstown, Jacksonburg, and Millville. The district includes Hagerstown Elementary School and Hagerstown Junior and Senior High School. The corporation has strong ties to the local community, utilizing the resources and expertise of area businesses to augment the educational experiences of its students and help them achieve their full potential.
Small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios emphasize personal classroom instruction and hands-on learning experiences. From kindergarten through high school, students will find teachers who believe in them and empower them to discover and follow their dreams. Every student who attends Nettle Creek Schools is known by his or her teachers on a first-name basis. Many teachers have the same student twice in the classroom and again in an extracurricular activity. Because students are in the same building for six years, teachers are more focused on students’ academic and social strengths, as well as any areas where improvement is needed. Students also have access to before, after, and in-school opportunities for extra academic help.
Academic and extracurricular offerings are comprehensive at both the elementary and junior and senior high school level, with 13 dual-credit courses taught by faculty. In 2017, the district had a 96.8 percent high school graduation rate. Nearly 90 percent of the class graduated with a college transcript. According to the Indiana Department of Education’s most recent analysis of Hoosier schools, Nettle Creek was the only school corporation serving Wayne County that earned an A rating and is the only district in the area to increase its overall letter grade in 2018. The IDOE’s accountability grades are based on student performance, student improvement, graduation rates, and college and career readiness.
Students also can take specific college courses online and on a college campus during the school day. Participation in the Model Legislature and academic competitions offers additional opportunities for students to test their skills and knowledge. Organizations involving music, the arts, Future Farmers of America, Business Professionals of America, and more offer experiences for students to compete at the county, state and often national levels. A Golden Tiger Band program provides marching, jazz, athletic, and symphonic performance opportunities.
During their education at Nettle Creek Schools, students are exposed to leadership, conflict resolution, peer mediation, and essential life skills curriculum. An agri-business program gives students the chance to raise fish, cattle, and poultry, along with welding, small engine repair, and auto body painting opportunities.
Academic offerings are enhanced with creative outlets, with students given access to a wide variety of arts-related courses, including 2 and 3-D photography and yearbook production.
Accountability is important at Nettle Creek Schools. Parents, teachers, administrators, and local employers all have a vested interest in student learning and success. Skill development is key, and area business leaders play an instrumental role in ensuring students have the knowledge and skills to compete in an ever-evolving workforce.
This community engagement takes many forms. Business owners may partner with a specific classroom, offering a consistent source of support and academic incentives. Other businesses focus on college and career, providing professional learning opportunities, guidance, and expertise through in-person presentations, mentoring, and workplace experiences.
It is these and other community partnerships that make Nettle Creek Schools truly a place where students are empowered to realize their potential and inspired to grow and succeed.
Northeastern Wayne School Corporation considers itself to be a partnership of students, staff, families, and community. Located in the northeastern sector of Wayne County, Indiana, the school district consists of approximately 1,332 students enrolled in Northeastern Elementary School, Northeastern Middle School, and Northeastern High School.
As its motto—Where Excellence in Education is an Expectation—suggests, all three schools strive to provide enrichment opportunities that address the individual needs of students and allow them to achieve academic excellence and acquire the life-skills necessary to be productive citizens in a global society.
At each school, a challenging and diverse curriculum is presented in a positive and nurturing learning environment. For instance, Northeastern Middle School’s seventh and eighth grade classes are clustered together in a main area of the building to incorporate a middle school philosophy. This “school within a school” concept helps students make the transition from self-contained elementary classrooms to the structure of the high school environment.
At the high school level, academic and vocational needs are met through a variety of programs and practices. This includes a traditional and comprehensive curriculum; English and U.S. History advanced placement classes; distance-learning opportunities; I.C.E. (Inter-disciplinary Cooperative Education) mentoring/work program; cosmetology training at Demuth Institute of Cosmetology; training at Ivy Tech for certified nursing assistant and medical records; vocational training through Richmond Vocational School; and articulated and/or dual credit from Ivy Tech or Vincennes University for selected courses.
Northeastern Middle/ High School also provides remediation for students before, during, or after school. Opportunities for gifted/talented enrichment are offered for qualified students through 12th grade. Students also can take advantage of numerous extra-curricular and creative activities such as athletics, clubs, and theater.
Technology is an integral part of learning at Northeastern Wayne Schools. The district has instituted a 1-to-1 technology initiative with the implementation of iPads in grades 3-12 and uses classroom sets of iPads for each grade level in grades K-2. This work to emphasize and promote digital learning has been recognized by the Indiana Department of Indiana with an Innovation Planning Grant for two consecutive years.
Approximately 74 percent of graduating seniors at Northeastern High School are accepted to college. In addition, Northeastern Wayne Schools maintains a 90.5 percent graduation rate, with about 41 percent of high school seniors achieving an academic honors diploma and approximately 84 percent achieving a Core 40 diploma.
Richmond Community Schools is the largest school system in Wayne County, Indiana with approximately 4,574 enrolled students. The strength of the district lies in its professionalism, partnerships with parents and local businesses, the diversity of facilities and special programs, and a commitment to academic excellence.
In total, Richmond Community Schools District comprises 10 schools and various special programs. These include:
• Richmond High School (Grades 9 through 12)
• Three intermediate schools (Grade 5 through 8)
• Six elementary schools (Preschool through 4)
• High Ability Program (Gifted & Talented)
• Special Education
• Preschoolers
• Career/Vocational Education
• Adult Education
Richmond Community Schools’ tradition of excellence has drawn families to the area for more than 140 years. With the help of faculty, staff and administrators, Richmond Community Schools offers outstanding academic and other enrichment programs to equip students with the skills needed in the 21st Century workforce. Technology is infused throughout the curriculum. All students have access to a computer multiple times a week. Six classrooms in the Richmond High School Science Department use digital textbooks for classroom use.
In addition, many opportunities are available for students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). There are summer STEM camps for grades K-7, and over 116 servers provide educational and business-related technologies to classrooms. Plus, professional development is provided weekly in areas of integrating technology into teaching.
Partnerships with local businesses and higher education institutions are an integral part of Richmond Community Schools. Area employers serve as mentors for all grade levels, offering students insight and perspective into prospective careers, as well as hands-on experiences about the world of work and outside classroom opportunities. There is the Richmond High School Early College, which serves as a “school within a school” and partners with Richmond High School and Ivy Tech Community College to create a college-going culture among students. Another college-focused endeavor is The Early College Preparatory Academy. Located at the Hibberd Program Building, the academy prepares four cohorts of selected students in fifth through eighth grade for college-level coursework beginning when students bridge to the Richmond High School Early College hosted at Richmond High School and Ivy Tech Community College.
The mission of Richmond Community Schools is for all students to experience world-class academic standards that enable them to form a personal connection to learning. The desire to learn is fostered through relevant learning experiences, classroom environments that incorporate academic, vocational, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences, and skilled faculty and staff who are trained to help every student realize his or her potential.
Located in Wayne County, Indiana, Western Wayne Schools includes three schools—Western Wayne Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Lincoln Senior High School—that serve the areas of Cambridge City, Milton, Dublin, Pershing, and Mt. Auburn with 845 enrolled students.
All three schools emphasize individualized learning environments, offering students the tools, support, and resources to help them to grow and excel.
Beginning in elementary school, students are nurtured by a team of teachers to be active learners and to discover and embrace an educational path that promotes lifelong learning. A small teacher-to-student ratio allows for individualized, hands-on instruction so that teachers can truly capitalize on a student’s strengths and proficiencies.
More than nurturing engaged learners, Western Wayne Schools empowers young students to achieve academic and personal progress each day. Students are prepared early on in their educational journey to meet the demands of a successful future. The elementary school in particular is referred to as a “family environment.” It is no wonder that this close-knit learning atmosphere often yields the refrain of “It is fun to learn here” from students, parents, and teachers alike!
The joy of learning that is created in elementary school becomes all the more enhanced in middle and high school. Through the Eagle Personalized Learning Academy, high school students learn at their own pace to complete core classes and receive individualized support from teachers. They also have the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school.
The concept of a learning community was further enhanced during the 2017-18 school year when teachers, local business leaders, and community members worked together to determine the skills and knowledge that Lincoln graduates needed to be successful in a 21st Century workforce. Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, students will be working to develop what’s known as “Eagle Exemplars” from preschool through 12th grade, in addition to learning Indiana Academic Standards.
The Eagle Exemplars effort is designed to prioritize the relationship between theory and practice. It incorporates a myriad of learning and real-world activities, including career exploration, portfolios, community service, team projects, service learning, collaboration, and more. What may have once been an isolated writing assignment is now deeply enriched by a community engagement activity. The two experiences connect to each other. Beginning in preschool, students begin to identify that every academic discipline—from English, to science, to history, to math—intersects, integrates, and links with another subject.
The interdisciplinary connections created by Eagle Exemplars not only enrich the academic experiences of students but ultimately improve retention and promote lifelong learning. Perhaps most important, the effort serves to spark the “a-ha moment” with students, showing them that what they are learning today indeed has relevance and a relationship to the real world they will one day inherit. When this happens, students are no longer learning in isolation. As a result, students come away with a greater understanding of how everything they learn and everyone they meet are truly interconnected.
Founded in 1985, Community Christian School is a non-profit, non-sectarian, family cooperative school. The school focuses on providing experiential education, with pre-kindergarten through eighth grade programs serving the uniqueness of each child.
Located in Richmond, Indiana, Community Christian School has approximately 122 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 9 to 1 and an average class size of 14 students. An emphasis on smaller class sizes, personal attention, and proven teaching methods has enabled students to consistently score well above the state average on the ISTEP Tests. In fact, scores are among the highest in the county.
According to its website, the foundation of Community Christian School’s mission is to “assist Christian parents and the local church in educating the next generation for Christ.” This spiritual objective is coupled with a strong focus on academics and a college-readiness curriculum.
Community Christian School is associated with the Association of Christian Schools International. Founded in 1978, ACSI has more 2,750 member schools, representing nearly 1,000,000 Christian day-school students. Membership provides many practical resources such as professional development conferences for teachers, accreditation and certification opportunities, student activities, publications, listings in its national directory, and insurance programs.
Located in Richmond, Indiana, Richmond Friends School is a preschool through eighth grade independent Quaker school founded in 1971. The school incorporates multi-aged classrooms that are purposefully designed to emphasize low student-to- teacher ratios to allow for customized instruction and expectations and assessments tailored to the academic and social needs of each individual child.
Students at Richmond Friends School are challenged to solve problems critically and collaboratively in a rich and nurturing community where faculty, staff, parents, and guardians are important partners in the learning process. The goal is to create students who embrace life-long learning and become compassionate citizens who are committed to making the world a better place.
The school offers a number of unique educational features. This includes a holistic approach to education. Teachers address individual skill levels of students through a customized curriculum that acknowledges the academic, mental, emotional, and physical growth of each student. A small student-to-teacher ratio creates a strong foundation to emphasize self-discovery and inquiry, while multi-age classrooms engage students in peer mentoring and modeling and help to build deeper relationships among peers and teachers. The school also uses non-traditional assessment such as portfolios, written evaluations, and presentations as a way to provide additional academic enrichment and spark students’ natural curiosity to learn.
The principles of the Quaker philosophy are strongly emphasized at Richmond Friends School. This includes a commitment to diversity and equality; decision-making by consensus (in classrooms, as well as in school governance); peaceful conflict resolution; integrity; simplicity; and community service.
As part of its focus on rigorous academics to address a variety of learning styles, hands-on activities that make connections to the real world are emphasized in every subject area. Students are engaged and continuously challenged to embrace learning. Parents, too, are actively involved in Richmond Friends School.
Seton Catholic Schools is a preschool through 12th grade school system representing the three parishes of St. Andrew’s, St. Mary’s, and Holy Family in Richmond, Indiana. The schools strive to provide educational expertise that addresses the intellectual, spiritual, social, moral, and physical needs of a child. Students are taught to actively contribute to society and to view life based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
From elementary to high school, Seton creates a rigorous learning environment designed to be robust and relevant to the real world. Instruction addresses the academic, spiritual, and emotional needs of the whole student, preparing them to be responsible and caring citizens and ready for college and careers.
Service to the community is an integral part of the learning that takes place at Seton Catholic Schools. Outside classroom experiences, beginning in elementary school and continuing through high school, provide service learning opportunities that nurture an awareness in students of the need to help others.
Parents of former and current students of Seton Catholic Schools cite the system’s focus on family, morals, religion, and character building as important attributes of their child’s education. A strong and supportive network of teachers, rigorous academic resources, and numerous athletic and extra-curricular activities also contribute to the faith-based education at Seton Catholic Schools.
A private, liberal arts college established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Earlham welcomes students of all faiths and offers an education rooted in such Quaker values as integrity, a commitment to peace and social justice, mutual respect and community decision-making.
A regional campus of Indiana University, IU East enrolls more than 4,000 students across its 60 academic degree programs. A traditional campus that excels in innovative learning options and a virtual campus with select online degree completion programs.
Offering hands-on experience with some of the state’s most advanced technologies and training facilities, plus the convenience of more than 1,000 online classes, and the attention that comes with a small average class size of 22.
Part of a statewide network that offers technology degrees with dedicated, one-to-one attention while you earn your degree from Purdue University.
The official seminary of the Church of the Brethren. Bethany is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
A graduate division of Earlham College, ESR is the oldest graduate seminary associated with the Religious Society of Friends. ESR’s curricula and events contribute to sharpening our community’s ability to discern God’s word and share it with the broader world.
Next Level Jobs provides Hoosiers with free state-wide training in high-paying, in-demand industries. Next Level Jobs also provides Indiana employers with reimbursements up to $50,000 to train their employees in several high-growth fields.
WorkOne is where Hoosiers go to find a good job, choose a career, or access training – all of which are necessities in order to succeed in today’s economy. WorkOne can provide computer labs, resume workshops, and career counseling, all at no cost to provide job seekers the competitive edge needed for a successful job search. Training programs, and in some cases funding for training, is also available.
Job Search Assistance
• Resume development workshops
• Interview coaching and workshops
• Local job fairs
• IndianaCareerConnect
Employment for Veterans
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Career Counseling
• Skills evaluation and assessment
• Online assessments enabling jobseekers to test skills and compare with job profiles to identify strengths and weaknesses in a given career path
Education and Training Programs
• High School Equivalency diploma (formerly GED)
• Adult Basic Education
• WorkINdiana
• Career readiness training
• Certification courses in basic office functions
• Computer classes
Wayne County has open enrollment for public schools based on availability
