Original Research by School Decision on Purdue Polytechnic High Sch North
Purdue Polytechnic High School North is a public charter high school in Indianapolis that serves grades nine through twelve. Located at 1115 Broad Ripple Avenue, it operates within the Indianapolis area but functions as its own standalone charter district. The school is relatively small for a high school, with enrollment roughly evenly distributed across all four grade levels. A significant share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is diverse: about half of the students are white, roughly a third are Black, and the remainder includes students who are Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial. The school is a regular high school by type, meaning it is not an alternative program or a special-population school.
State testing data and a four-year graduation rate were not available for this school. It is important to note that Indiana’s high school accountability system and state testing structure may produce these data through the state, but they were not present in the materials provided here. A parent considering this school would want to look into state test performance and graduation outcomes directly with the school or the state education agency. The comparison data for districts in Marion County, which includes other public and charter high schools, could not generate comparisons for this school because these key metrics were missing, so how it stacks up against neighbors is simply unknown from the available information.
The housing market surrounding the school shows that the local area has typical values for the Indianapolis metro. Home values and rents are moderate compared to national averages and have shown slight increases. The 30-year mortgage rate sits at a level that makes homebuying costly for many families, but the local housing costs are less than the national median. The unemployment rate is stable, and median household income nationally has risen modestly in recent years. These conditions are not specific to the school but describe the broader economic environment families face when considering a move to this part of Indianapolis.
The school is part of a charter network that has drawn public attention for its connection to Purdue University and an emphasis on project-based learning tied to tech and engineering pathways, though those programmatic details are not captured in the available data. There were no recent reports of curriculum shifts, facility referendums, or other lasting changes to the school or its authorizing body that would affect a family's decision. The school's profile is otherwise thin on specifics for a parent who wants to compare academic performance or program breadth.
What this school offers is a small, diverse high school setting in a charter environment with a moderate share of low-income students. The absence of testing results and graduation rates is a major gap in what most families want to evaluate. A parent should obtain those from the school or state before making a judgment. The school’s location on the north side of Indianapolis places it in a mature urban neighborhood with access to the amenities of the city but also the traffic and variability of an urban district. For families who value a smaller charter with a distinctive instructional philosophy, this school may warrant a closer look, but the lack of performance data means there is little here to confirm or challenge those impressions.
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