Public vs private schools (Indianapolis, Lafayette: top schools, community college, living in)

[chicagofamily]

My husband & I are thinking of moving to Indy from Chicago with our 2 young kids. By the time we move there, they will be in pre-school. I'm not at all familiar with the Indy school system. We'd probably move to Carmel & I've heard outstanding things about the public school system.

Is public school definitely the way to go? What are the names of private/Catholic elementary/high schools that have good reputations?
What about pre-schools?

Any info would be greatly appreciated b/c we don't know anybody living in Indy.

Also, compared to Columbus, OH, what's Indy like?

Thanks for the advice!!

[domergurl]

Do some searching on this thread .... Carmel is debated often here! I'll just tell you my experience. We moved from Valpo and we looked in Carmel & Fishers. What drove us to choose Fishers was the school system. You may also want to look at Zionsville, equally outstanding.

The nice thing about the three towns is that the public schools are great. If you want private, there are also great private schools. I have a friend who started sending both their kids to Park Tudor in preschool. The Sycamore and the Orchard Schools are also fantastic. There are a lot of Catholic schools too, you can get a list from the archdiocese of Indianapolis's or the archdiocese of Lafayette's websites (Fishers, Carmel, & Zionsville, if I'm remember right, are in Lafayette's diocese).

If you move here, you won't be far from Chicago either. Can't say that about Columbus Ohio!

[mistyriverranch]

Meridian Hills Cooperative Preschool (on N. Pennsylvania)was incredible when my daughter went there. It was a magical place.

[chicagofamily]

Thanks so much. I will take a look at the pre-schools you mentioned.

[Michelle Shepherd]

I agree with domergurl - you can't go wrong with the Northside schools. Zionsville and Carmel schools are consistently rated in the top schools of Indiana. I would avoid IPS personally. Indy itself is a fantastic city - especially for families. Get a membership to the Childrens Museum, your kids will LOVE IT!

[Michelle Morris]

GreatSchools.net is a website where you can look at and compare different schools. It gives you info on the school district, test scores, student and teacher stats and allows parents to rank the schools, so you can read what they have to say about the schools (if there are any parents who left comments)

*I am not affiliated with this site in any way*

[Davachka]

I have to disagree, the schools in Carmel and north Indy are overcrowded and not desirable. Yes, at one point they were considered good schools, until everyone starting moving here for that reason and now they are just filled past capacity offering children less and less attention.

I would go private all the way, our daughter goes to the International School of Indiana which offers classes from age 3 through high school. They offer an excellent education focusing on being bilingual/trilingual, which is what is offered in most other countries outside the U.S. They also focus on learning about cultures of the world, their motto is education without borders. Class sizes are very small and individualized attention and education is the focus. Our daughter loves her teachers and the school, and is actually excited for school. That speaks volumes in itself.
Go to Isind.org for more information and good luck!

[DataEast]

I would agree that some of the Northern Indianapolis public schools are not that great, but North Central and Lawrence Central rank in the top 1200 schools in the nation. Imo you don't get a normal high school experience if you go to the International school. (It looks like Hogwarts lol). There are many programs at NC that involve foreign exchange programs. Italian kids come every year along with students visiting many countries. Students can also enroll in courses of Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Latin. There is also a student center which focuses on individualized students that wish for it. Big crowds are a part of life and if kids can't handle, then they probably shouldn't go to college; which is where most NC students and International school students will end up.

[domergurl]

I met a mother whose son attended the international school. Wow, what a place to learn!!! But mucho mucho $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. If one can afford it, go for it by all means! And even though Carmel, NC, etc. are all big humongous schools, quality learning goes on there as well.

[Davachka]

It looks like Hogwarts? A school that is focused on a worldly education looks like a fictional place of witchcraft and wizards? Oh my.
Yes, that must be the case, of course that multiculturalism stuff must be that cuckoo witchcraft huh? Yes, sometimes I am harshly reminded the lack of culture of where I reside.
North Central may offer a few classes here or there, but the International school's entire program uses that as a foundation.

It's like taking a few intro to law classes at the local community college or going to Harvard Law. Sure one is much more expensive, but you get the better education as well. And for us, and our daughter, that is the priority.