Herron High School Seeks To Open New Indy Campus

Hundreds of Indianapolis students who can’t get a seat in one of the state’s top high schools may soon have a better chance to get in.

Next week, Herron High School leaders will ask the city’s charter school board to approve a second Herron campus within the Indianapolis Public School district.

Document: Herron High School charter replication application

Since opening in 2006, enrollment at the school has outpaced expectations and pushed the 16th Street campus to its limits, said principal Janet McNeal.

"We are looking at a 320 person wait list, right here, in May. If is that way today I think it is probably going to hit 400," McNeal said earliler this month. "I know that some schools talk about 'that is great, shows that people are interested in what they are doing.' But I see it as really sad. Because that is that many students that we can not serve."

All students at Herron learn Latin and are expected to attend college after graduation -- and nearly all do. Last year, 98 percent of students graduated in four years. 

The school also embraces students who likely wouldn’t fit in elsewhere, McNeal says

That combination has made the campus popular in and outside of Marion County. Enrollment is now maxed at around 750 students in grades 9-12. 

The new Herron High, if approved, would be similar to the original school -- with the same emphasis on the classical, liberal arts and college preparatory curriculum -- but with an enrollment of less than 600 students.

"We are not going to compromise our current campus but we feel that we have built a significant bench that we can take some of those teacher-leaders and staff leaders to a new school and feel like we can replicate it," McNeal said.

Fundraising to open the new school is underway. A $2 million budget is projected for the first year. A possible location for the school has not been publicly discussed but it will be within the IPS disctrict. 

Herron students are about 62 percent white and 33 percent receive free or reduced lunch. Last year, 98 percent of students graduated. At IPS, students are: 50 percent black, 76 percent receive free or reduced lunch and 71 percent graduated last year.

Herron has been rated an A the past four years in the state’s A-F accountability system. U.S. News & World Report also just ranked it as the No. 2 high school in Indiana.

Mayor Greg Ballard’s Indianapolis Charter School Board will decide whether to approve the replication at the June 2 meeting.

Contact WFYI education reporter Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.