Original Research by School Decision on Douglas Macarthur Kindergarten
Douglas MacArthur Kindergarten is a public school serving only kindergarten and first grade as part of Perry Township Schools in the southern portion of Indianapolis. It operates as one of four kindergarten academies within a district that recently restructured its elementary system, separating early childhood, kindergarten, and upper elementary grades into distinct buildings. This reorganization creates a dedicated early learning setting, meaning families with a child entering kindergarten will find a school designed specifically for that age group, with no older students in the building.
The school enrolls roughly that size of student body for a two-grade building, with by far the largest share in kindergarten and only a small number of first graders. Economically, a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a family population where many households are managing on modest incomes. The student body is diverse: roughly a third of students are Asian, a third are White, and the remainder is made up of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students in smaller but noticeable shares. Data on students with disabilities or English learner status was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the availability of specialized supports.
Because the school serves only the early primary grades, state testing results are not available—Indiana does not administer standardized assessments at kindergarten or first grade. This is a structural gap, not a reflection of performance, and it means families cannot evaluate academic achievement through state reports at this level. The same holds for graduation rates and chronic absenteeism; neither metric applies. The absence of these numbers is expected for a school of this grade band.
The district, Perry Township Schools, has made a lasting organizational change by splitting its elementary program into feeder systems: families living east of US-31 attend Southport feeder schools, and those west of US-31 attend Perry Meridian feeder schools. Douglas MacArthur Kindergarten sits within one of these feeders, so assignment is determined by a family’s address. The district also secured a federal Teacher and School Leader grant, which, publicly reported, supports recruiting and retaining effective teachers and school leaders, a resource that may influence the quality of instruction across the district over time.
The school is located in a zip code area where home values sit slightly below the national median and have held roughly steady with a very modest decline in the past year. Rents have been rising somewhat, and the area appears more affordable than the broader Indianapolis metropolitan region for both buying and renting. The monthly housing costs, when compared to typical incomes, land in a range that many households can manage, though the substantial share of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch suggests that not every family finds the area equally attainable.
For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that Douglas MacArthur Kindergarten offers a focused early primary experience in a building that is part of a deliberately tiered district structure. The student body is economically and racially diverse, and while state test data cannot inform a curriculum assessment, a parent can investigate directly—by visiting, speaking with staff, or looking for any available school-level reports on literacy or math benchmarks. The school fits a family looking for a neighborhood public option that concentrates on the youngest learners within a district that has made intentional choices about its grade configuration.
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