Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives
Elementary Schools

Best Elementary Schools
in Indianapolis Public Schools

This page covers 39 elementary schools in Indianapolis Public Schools. Rankings use a composite of neighborhood opportunity, class sizes, and per-student investment — signals available consistently from federal data across all US public schools. Schools in this district score below the national median on neighborhood opportunity. Use these rankings as a starting point; pair them with school visits and conversations with local parents before making any enrollment decision.

39
Schools Ranked
Indiana
State
None
Charter Schools
RankingsHow We RankFAQAbout Data

Elementary Schools Rankings

Showing 10 of 39
1
rank
Meredith Nicholson School 96
Grades PK–06358 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (12.6:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
66
/100
Student:Teacher
12.6:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
79%
High economic need
2
rank
William McKinley School 39
Grades PK–06369 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (12.7:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
66
/100
Student:Teacher
12.7:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
76%
High economic need
3
rank
Eleanor Skillen School 34
Grades PK–06293 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (12.7:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
65
/100
Student:Teacher
12.7:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
81%
High economic need
4
rank
Jonathan Jennings School 109
Grades PK–06289 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (13.0:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
65
/100
Student:Teacher
13.0:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
77%
High economic need
5
rank
Paul I Miller School 114
Grades PK–06267 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (12.1:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
65
/100
Student:Teacher
12.1:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
87%
High economic need
6
rank
Carl Wilde School 79
Grades PK–06598 students
Ranked for: above-average investment ($26,790/student)
64
/100
Student:Teacher
13.8:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
76%
High economic need
7
rank
Lew Wallace School 107
Grades PK–06462 students
Ranked for: above-average investment ($26,790/student)
64
/100
Student:Teacher
14.2:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
75%
High economic need
8
rank
William Penn School 49
Grades PK–08509 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (13.4:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
64
/100
Student:Teacher
13.4:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
78%
High economic need
9
rank
Daniel Webster School 46
Grades PK–08417 students
Ranked for: above-average investment ($26,790/student)
62
/100
Student:Teacher
14.9:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
81%
High economic need
10
rank
Raymond F Brandes School 65
Grades PK–06150 students
Ranked for: small class sizes (11.1:1) · above-average investment ($26,790/student)
60
/100
Student:Teacher
11.1:1
Below nat'l 15.4:1
Opportunity
49/100
Near nat'l median
Per-Pupil Spend
$26,790
Above nat'l avg
Free Lunch
83%
High economic need
29 more elementary schools in Indianapolis Public Schools not shown here.
View all schools in Indianapolis Public Schools
How We Rank Elementary Schools

Each school receives a composite score (0–100) built from 4 federal data signals, weighted to reflect what matters most at the elementary school level. All signals are normalised against national benchmarks so a school's score reflects its standing across the entire US, not just within this district.

Neighborhood Opportunity
40%
Harvard Opportunity Atlas score for the school's neighbourhood. Higher means children from this area historically achieve stronger economic outcomes.
Student-Teacher Ratio
30%
Lower ratio = smaller classes = more individual attention per child. Normalised against national range.
Per-Pupil Expenditure
20%
Annual district spending per enrolled student from the NCES F-33 Finance Survey. Compared against national average.
Free Lunch Rate
10%
Percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced-price lunch. Used as a neighbourhood economic-context signal.
Test scores are excluded: they are not published as consistent open federal data across all states, making reliable cross-district comparison impossible with this signal alone.
District at a Glance
39
Elementary Schools
57
Total Schools
66
#1 Score
54
Avg Score
Top Ranked Elementary School
Compare Indianapolis Public Schools with neighbouring districts
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Frequently Asked Questions
About This Data

All figures on this page come directly from US federal open datasets: NCES Common Core of Data (enrollment, school characteristics, student-teacher ratios), NCES F-33 Finance Survey (per-pupil expenditure), Harvard Opportunity Atlas (neighbourhood opportunity scores). Federal data is published on an annual cycle and may not reflect the very latest school-year changes. Rankings reflect available data and should be used as a starting point — not a substitute for visiting schools or consulting district resources directly. What this ranking does not measure: teacher quality, classroom culture, extracurricular programmes, school safety, or parent and student satisfaction.