Herron schools to buy former Salvation Army building from Children’s Museum

Herron Classical Schools has found a new home for its elementary school. The charter school network will purchase the former Salvation Army building from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. 

The facility, which is adjacent to The Children’s Museum at 3100 N. Meridian St., will serve as the new home for Herron Preparatory Academy. The school is currently located on the north lot of Herron High School in the near northside of Indianapolis. 

Herron Preparatory Academy opened this school year to 120 kindergarten through second graders and will add a grade level each year until it serves up to eighth grade. The school provides a classical, liberal arts curriculum that aims to serve a diverse population of students. 

The Herron Classical Schools Network also includes Herron High School and  Herron-Riverside High School. Herron High School was founded in 2006 and has become one of Indiana’s most sought after charter high schools. The elementary school will eventually allow a student to attend a Herron school for all grades while remaining in the same area of the city. The new elementary building will be equal distance from both high schools. 

Herron High School serves over 900 students — 26 percent Black, 11 percent Hispanic and 53 percent White. Forty percent of Herron High Schoolers received free and reduced meals during the 2020-2021 school year, the national standard for calculating child poverty. Riverside High School serves over 400 students — 59 percent Black, 17 percent Hispanic and 18 percent White. Sixty-six percent of students received free and reduced meals last fall. 

Both Herron high schools joined Indianapolis Public Schools’ innovation charter school network in 2017. An innovation charter school is an agreement between IPS and a charter school’s nonprofit board. The partnership provides charter schools with some of the district’s resources – such a facility, special education services or some property tax referendum funding. The agreement allows IPS to include the charter students as part of its enrollment, which increases the amount of state funding the district receives.  

IPS is expected to vote on contract renewals with all three Herron Classical Schools in May.

Contact WFYI education reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @_elizabethgabs.