The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Indy Steam Academy
Indy Steam Academy served students from kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public charter school in Indianapolis. The school has closed.
The most important fact for any family researching this school is that its charter was revoked by the Indiana Charter School Board in May 2024. The closure took effect at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The decision followed missed financial reporting deadlines, compliance concerns from the state education department, and the resignation of all but one of the school's board members. Another charter operator was approved to open a new K-6 school in the same building the following year.
While it was open, the school enrolled a small student body. The student population was overwhelmingly Black, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a very small number of white students and students of two or more races. A large majority of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need among the families served.
On the Indiana ILEARN state assessments, proficiency rates were low across all tested subjects and grades. In math and English language arts, roughly one in six students met the state's proficiency standard. In science, the rate was about the same. In fifth-grade social studies, no students tested at the proficient level. When compared with other districts in Marion County using a proficiency index that averages results across subjects and grades, the school's performance fell below the midpoint of the county's districts.
The school's curriculum focus was on STEAM subjects, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. Because it only served through sixth grade, it had no high school graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing was not available in the data.
The school was located on Sherman Drive on the east side of Indianapolis, in a neighborhood with a mix of residential and commercial properties. Housing values in the surrounding area were below national and state benchmarks, and rents were lower as well, consistent with a more affordable part of the city.
For a family considering Indy Steam Academy, the fact that the school has permanently closed is the central reality. Any student who would have attended now needs an alternative placement, and the new school in the same building, if still operating, would be a separate entity with its own enrollment process and academic record.
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