School Guide 2015-2016
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SCHOOL GUIDE 2015-2016 Cardinal Ritter High School Avondale Meadows Academy Sidener Academy for High Ability Students INDIANAPOLIS A guide for finding a great K-12 school for your child ABOUT THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF EDUCATION INNOVATION (OEI) Mayor Greg Ballard’s vision is for every child in every neighborhood to have access to a quality education – an education that enables all children to define their own life path. We live in an information-age economy, which demands an information-age education system. Our commitment to delivering access and quality begins with early childhood education and continues with high-quality K-12 options and workforce development. The Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation (OEI) is committed to pursuing this vision by: • providing access to high-quality preschools for 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families. • authorizing 37 high-quality, mayor-sponsored charter schools. • promoting innovative educational options that address specific community needs. • encouraging collaboration between K-12, higher education, and the workforce. • providing accessible information to families about preschool-12 options through GreatSchools. IMPORTANT CONTACTS School district contacts School guide distribution Beech Grove City (317) 788-4481 partners Decatur Township (317) 856-5265 Schools The Indianapolis Public Library Franklin Township (317) 862-2411 200 E. Washington St., Suite 2501 Melanie Wissel, Manager, Program Indianapolis Public Schools (317) 226-4000 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Development Lawrence Township (317) 423-8200 (317) 327-3618 40 E. St. Clair St. Perry Township (317) 789-3700 [email protected] Indianapolis, IN 46204 Pike Township (317) 293-0393 http://oei.indy.gov (317) 275-4100 Town of Speedway (317) 244-0236 Warren Township (317) 869-4300 Kroger Washington Township (317) 845-9400 Media Spokesman Wayne Township (317) 988-8600 Ball State University 5960 Castleway West Dr. Teachers College (TC), Room 910 Indianapolis, IN 46250 Indiana Non-Public Muncie, IN 47306 (317) 579-8113 Education Association (765) 285-6103 John F. Elcesser, Executive Director [email protected] Institute for Quality Education 1400 N. Meridian St. www.bsu.edu Indianapolis, IN 46202-2305 (317) 236-7329 101 W. Ohio St., Suite 700 [email protected] Indianapolis, IN 46204 143 W. Market St., Suite 300 (877) 880-2002 (toll free) Indiana Department Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.i4qed.org/ of Education (317) 233-4088 151 W. Ohio St. [email protected] City of Indianapolis Department of Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.in.gov/icsb/ Parks and Recreation (317) 232-6610 www.doe.in.gov 200 E. Washington St., Suite 2300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317) 327-PARK TABLE OF CONTENTS How to use this guide .................................................................... 4-7 Why is choosing the right school important? ...................................................... 4 The GreatSchools Rating ............................................................................. 4-5 The Indiana A-F Rating .................................................................................... 5 The QRIS Paths to QUALITY™ Preschool Rating ......................................... 5-6 ....................................................................................... 7-8 5 steps to choosing a school ................................................ 9-28 Step 2: Explore ......................................................................................... 13-17 Step 3: Visit .............................................................................................. 18-22 Step 4: Prioritize ....................................................................................... 23-24 Step 5: Apply ........................................................................................... 25-28 School profiles ............................................................................ 29-146 Grades K-8 ............................................................................................. 30-118 Grades 9-12 ......................................................................................... 119-146 Indices ............................................................................................. 147-149 Education-related services .................................................. 151-157 Glossary of education terms .................................................... 158 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Why is choosing the right school The GreatSchools Rating important? The GreatSchools Rating is a simple tool that helps The school you choose will have a lasting impact on your you compare schools based on test scores and other available data, including student academic growth and in teaching academics, providing a safe environment college readiness. GreatSchools is always working to for learning, and preparing students for college and improve the rating and add more information when state education agencies make school quality data publicly important for you to consider the type of environment that available. will help your child succeed. The GreatSchools Rating is on a 1-10 scale, where 10 is Choosing the right school for your child may seem the highest and 1 is the lowest. Ratings are broken down into three categories: ratings 1-3 signal that the school when you see your child learning and growing in the right is “below average,” 4-7 indicate “average,” and 8-10 are school. “above average.” Ratings for these categories are shown in red, yellow, and green (respectively) to help you see the How to use this guide distinctions. The Indianapolis school guide is designed to help your family choose a school. In most districts, there are plenty of options – public schools, public charter schools, and Test score rating 3 private schools. The goal is to narrow your search to a few 6 Student growth rating schools that you like, visit those schools, then apply to the out of 10 8 schools you believe will serve your child best. College readiness 10 Overall rating Our 5 steps to choosing a school has easy worksheets 1-3 Below average 4-7 Average 8-10 Above average and vital information to help guide you through the process. Our highlight each school’s location, well students do on standardized tests compared to other academic standing, programs, and other details. students in the state. Ratings in most states are based exclusively on test scores. While test results give parents Use GreatSchools Indianapolis for more a good sense of how well students are performing at information a given school, they only provide a limited snapshot of Greatschools.org/indianapolis provides a wealth of school quality. Therefore, in a growing number of states current information to help you in your school search. where data is available, the GreatSchools Rating includes additional information on student outcomes, such as performance data, school program information, and information on how much students are learning in a given helpful articles about parenting and education. year and how prepared they are for college. Visit www.greatschools.org/indianapolis A broader picture of school quality As states make more data on school quality available, GreatSchools is committed to providing this information to Indianapolis School Guide 2015-2016 4 www.greatschools.org/indianapolis HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE parents and incorporating it into the GreatSchools Rating. college readiness information, the overall GreatSchools Based on extensive research on what contributes to long- Rating is an average of how well students do on each sub- term success for students, we are currently focused on rating. Sub-ratings are weighted equally, though actual three measures of academic quality: weights depend on the amount of data available per school and what grades that school serves. For instance, Test scores: Test scores tell parents how well students a K-5 school has no college readiness data, so the overall at a school are doing in academics. This is measured as rating would be based 50% on student achievement the percent of students meeting state standards based on and 50% on student growth. In contrast, the rating for state standardized tests. While this measure tells parents a high school with data for all three measures would be how well students at a school are doing currently, it does based 33% on student achievement, 33% on student not necessarily show how much students are learning in a growth, and 33% on college readiness. Each sub-rating given year — that is, how much students are growing. represents how a school compares to all other schools in the state on each measure, and these sub-ratings are Student growth: Measures of student growth tell parents averaged into an overall rating. how much students are actually learning in a year, rather than how much they already know. A school with high All GreatSchools Ratings for high schools in this guide growth could be a school with students who started were calculated using ACT/SAT test score data from behind grade level and have now caught up. It could also the 2012-2013 school year. Please note that while be a school with students who started already above these scores are a small part of the overall calculation grade level and have moved even further ahead of similar of the GreatSchools Ratings, they may have an impact students. Student growth is typically measured through on the resulting rating. Be sure to consider all factors gains on test scores year over year, comparing similar when choosing a school, and always visit your