The Duneland School Corporation is
governed by an elected five member Board of School Trustees, elected to
represent the interests of over 5800 students from the townships of Westchester,
Jackson, Liberty and part of Pine, all located in Porter County. The
corporation spans a 92 square-mile area including the towns of
Chesterton, Porter, Burns Harbor and Dune Acres, on the shore of
beautiful Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana.
The Duneland School Corporation consists of five elementary schools (grades K-4), two intermediate schools (grades 5-6), a middle school (grades 7-8) and a high school (grades 9-12). Each school has a hot lunch program and bus service is provided to all students living outside of walking boundaries.
In
partnership with our parents and community, Duneland Schools are committed to maintaining
a broad and rich educational program that
responds to the individual needs of the children of our community. Fine Arts, physical education and STEM related learning experiences are
provided in all grades K-12. World Language classes (e.g. French, German, Japanese and Spanish) begin at the middle school level and continue through high school. The International Baccalaureate program is offered at Chesterton High School, one of only 21 such programs in the State, in addition to extensive program
offerings in Advanced Placement, concurrent/dual credit courses and a wide variety of
vocational/career related courses.
The
well-rounded
curriculum with emphasis on core subjects is enhanced by a variety of
co- and extra-curricular opportunities. Our
students are actively involved in a nationally
recognized speech and debate program, an award winning radio station – WDSO – celebrating its 40th year, award winning student publications, Fine Arts programs and performance groups, secondary
interscholastic athletics, co-curricular and extracurricular clubs and finally, students and staff members at all grade levels are involved in numerous community service programs each year.
Duneland
employs approximately 350 professional certified staff, counselors,
administrators and specialists, in addition to specialists assigned by the Porter County Special Education
Interlocal. A classified support staff of over 400 provides instructional
assistance, health services, secretarial services, supervision, food service, custodial and
maintenance services, and transportation
service throughout the school district. Parent volunteers, parent organizations and advisory
groups are active at each school level and
provide a viable link for home, school and
community.
Duneland’s
close
proximity
to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the city of
Chicago provides unique educational, cultural,
social and recreational opportunities for our students, parents and community. Further
educational opportunities are available at
regional campuses for Indiana University,
Purdue University and Ivy Tech, as well as
Valparaiso University and several technical schools. The Duneland Chamber of Commerce provides information regarding educational and family activities and programs throughout the area.
