Original Research by School Decision on Impact Academy 1
Impact Academy 1 is a small regular public school in Indianapolis that serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is part of Indianapolis Public Schools, a district that has undergone significant changes in recent years, including a zone-based enrollment system that allows families to apply to any school in the district through a centralized application process. The district also operates an Innovation Network Schools model, where some schools are run by external partners while remaining part of IPS. This school is not a charter school, and its status as a magnet or Title I school was not available in the data.
The school is very small, with an enrollment that is modest for a PK-12 campus. The student body is diverse, with a majority of students identifying as Black, and substantial shares identifying as Hispanic and white. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with an Individualized Education Program or who are English learners was not available.
State testing data for Impact Academy 1 is largely suppressed, which means the results are not publicly reported. This is common when the number of students tested in a given subject and grade is very small, as the state withholds results to protect student privacy. In the most recent testing year, only a handful of students were tested in math and English language arts, and participation was complete. Science and social studies testing from prior years also had suppressed results. Because the data is suppressed, it is not possible to describe the school's academic performance on state assessments. A parent looking for a clear picture of student achievement on standardized tests will not find it here, and should ask the school directly for any internal assessment data or alternative measures of student progress.
The school serves a wide grade span, from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, but the enrollment is concentrated at the youngest and oldest ends. The largest group of students is in pre-kindergarten, with a smaller number of students in the high school grades. There are very few students in the elementary and middle school grades. This unusual enrollment pattern means the school functions primarily as an early childhood and high school program, with little in between.
The school is located in Indianapolis, a large Midwestern city with a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Housing in the area is more affordable than the national median, with home values that have seen a modest decline recently. Rents are also below the national average, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment is lower than the typical rent, suggesting that buying may be more accessible than renting in this part of the city.
Because the school serves all grades but has very few students in the tested grades, state assessment results are suppressed and cannot be used to evaluate academic performance. The school does not have a reported graduation rate, and no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course access was available. A parent considering this school will need to gather information directly from the school about student outcomes, curriculum, and the day-to-day academic experience, as the public data does not provide a clear picture. The school's small size and unusual enrollment distribution mean that a family should also ask about how instruction is structured across the wide grade span, particularly for the handful of students in the elementary and middle school years.
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