The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in Social studies. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Se Neighborhood Sch of Excellence
SE Neighborhood Sch of Excellence is a public charter school in Indianapolis serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It operates as its own district, which means it functions independently of the larger Indianapolis public school system, and it enrolls a student body of modest size for a school covering nine grade levels. The school sits in a zip code where home values are below both state and national benchmarks, and rents have been rising moderately.
The student population is diverse. More than two in five students are white, roughly one in four are Hispanic, and about one in six are Black. A small share identify as multiracial. A very substantial proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school reports data on race and economic status, but it did not provide counts or rates for students receiving special education services or for English learners, so a parent cannot tell from available records what share of the student body receives those supports.
State testing results on Indiana’s ILEARN assessments show that the school’s proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science are well below typical levels. In math, roughly one in five students scored at or above the proficient level. In English language arts, about one in six did. In science, about one in eight students who took the test scored proficient. A separate social studies test administered in fifth grade showed a slightly higher share of students meeting the bar, though still less than one in four. When positioned against other districts in Marion County, the school’s overall proficiency index falls above the midpoint, meaning a number of county districts have lower scores, but the rates themselves are low. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
This is a school that a parent considering it would want to investigate further for academic performance. The state-level charter authorizer issued a formal notice of non-compliance in 2023 specifically citing the school’s failure to meet academic performance standards in its charter agreement, including proficiency goals on ILEARN and the state reading assessment. The school entered a charter renewal process in spring 2024, which carries implications for whether it continues to be authorized to operate. That process is a concrete public fact and a parent moving into the area with elementary-age children would want to ask directly about the current status of the charter and any conditions tied to its renewal.
The school’s grade span, kindergarten through eighth grade, means that families with students in those grades could send all their children to one campus, an arrangement some parents prefer over a separate middle school transition. Because the school is a charter, admission is not tied to a residential address in the way a traditional district school is, though the school’s name and location anchor it in the southeast side of Indianapolis. Parents looking at this school should be prepared for a peer environment where most students come from low-income households and where the overall academic attainment on state exams is limited.
The surrounding housing market in the school’s zip code showed a slight dip in home values over the past year, while rents climbed. The national economic context in mid-2026 shows a 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the mid-six percent range and a national unemployment rate just above four percent. Those factors, combined with the school’s below-benchmark local home prices, suggest the area is relatively affordable compared to much of the rest of the state and country.
The district-level brief turned up no information about strategic priorities, curriculum approaches, or leadership turnover beyond the charter renewal matter, so those remain open questions. A parent investigating this school will want to visit, ask about the charter status, and seek current classroom data directly from the school or the authorizer.
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