This is our third year at the ICS system, and we have been very happy here. It is what we needed. Of the things I love most are the cultures: art, music and Spanish from kindergarten on up, and phys-ed daily for the gradeschool and every other day for middle school. Study hall at the end of the day allows for homework, club involvement (gardening, math pentathalon, student council, etc) or free tutoring, if needed. My children love this school and come home much happier with the day being rounded out by cultures, daily exercise and clubs. My children are performing well academically, one being in the academic honor society and the others testing well to very well on the state required exams. I guess I take this for granted, considering my top "likes" for this school are geared towards happy children! ICS offers K-12 which very important to me in looking at charter schools as an option. We have been in local township schools, rural public, private and homeshool finding what didn't work and ICS works for us. Long year, nice breaks. Dependable people here. Good discipline and tone. I highly recommend it. It has been enjoyable to be a part of this school and its' community pride.
—Submitted by a parent

My oldest daughter has been at this school from Kindergarten through 3rd grade and I have been very pleased with the teachers, communication, and close-knit community. Although there isn't AP curriculum, when it was discovered that my daughter knew the 1st grade curriculum she was skipped into the 2nd grade half-way through the year. The teachers made the transition successful, especially since my daughter is very shy. My only wish would be to see more diversity in the study body and teacher staff.
—Submitted by a parent

The younger years - we asked for additional reading materials (book list etc) for our son and this was never really provided nor seemed to be heavily emphasized, as a result he was behind in reading until 2nd grade. The teachers work hard to work with your student but you have to go to bat for them if they struggle or have special issues such as ADD. I have found heavy communication at the beginning of the year is helpful. Overall it is a pretty decent school smart teachers and a principle who cares. My advice to the school is a heavier focus on reading at the younger level would be appriciated (including how parents can help).
—Submitted by a parent

We expected great things, and instead have found this school to be mediocore. I believe my child is receiving a better ACADEMIC education than he/she would in a local public school, but they are FAILING in many other areas. My child's teacher left 2 months into the school year. There has been NO consistency for my child. ICES does not follow their own safety procedures, such as checking parent/guardian identification when releasing a child early in the day. We do not recieve pertinent information until the very last minute, and as a result we lose out on many opportunities to interact with our child at school functions. The school sent us an inaccurate bill that was TEN times what we really owed. I had to make multiple calls in order to correct this. I wanted to address a complaint with the principal, but her name and email are not clearly stated on the website. Overall, I am very dissappointed. I wish I could afford to send my child to the local private school, which is said to be excellent.
—Submitted by a parent

New to the elementary school and have been very pleased so far. Both my kids love it.
—Submitted by a parent

This school was supposed to offer a better alternative to local schools, but has financially struggled with poor management in recent years and only managed to be mediocre. What started well has slowly turned into a smoke and mirrors act.

A 720 student public charter school, grades K-12 High academic standards. AP courses in high school mandatory. Student to teacher ratio16:1. Lottery held in March of each year.
—Submitted by a parent

This School Has Very High Expactations And Expects Nothing But The BEst From Each And Every Student...I Myself Enjoy This School, Even Though It's Hard To Make Friends, I Would Highly Suggest This School To Parents.

This will be my daughters 5th year at ICS. We love it. She is advanced and they push her. There isn't much "picking on" going on. She is on the same learning level as her friends that go to private schools. The only real issue I've had with the school is they don't give you information in a timely manner. they wait til a few days before to tell you what going on. Besides that it's a wonderful school and she won't go any where else until college.
—Submitted by a parent

Granted, my daughter is only in the Kindergarten there I think they (the staff) work hard to teach her things that she will be able to use in her life. I am anxious to see her grow and I am so proud she is a student of ICS!!
—Submitted by a parent

This is the best charter school in Indianapolis period! It is also one of the best schools in the entire city. If you are not fortunate enough to live in an area with good schools, this is your only real option!!! My children started when the school was brand new, and we have moved several times. We now live out of state, but if we ever returned to Indy, ICS would be my only school choice!!!
—Submitted by a parent

My name is Sierra and I've been enrolled in this school for 5 years. I am currently in the 8th grade, I would recommend send your children to this school because it is very small. And small isn't always a bad thing, I have grown up with the kids from this school and they are pretty much like my family. Everybody knows everybody and it is exceptionally quiet during class. I plan to even go to the High school (IPA) next year. The President of the school is very friendly and would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
—Submitted by a student

I love this school, great staff and great teachers. They have excellent parent involvement at this school. Parents are always aware of their child's education, behavior and overall progress. I am definitely recommending this school to other parents seeking another school for their children. 5 Stars
—Submitted by a parent

No one can agree with everything 100% of the time. This is a great school. I have 3 children enrolled and we have been there for 4 years now. They are very strict, but that is one of the things that I appreciate and like about this school. Every school has problems. It is still a great school!! awoolen
—Submitted by Anne, a parent

After experiencing a lot of problems at an area parochial school, it is not only refreshing but very encouraging to finally find a school that actually puts the students best interest first.. The quality of education is superior to any other school I know of in the Indianapolis area. My 6th grade son is happier than he's ever been and looks forward to going to school each day. Kudos to the staff and administrators of a well rounded educational institution. I am looking forward to his finishing his education through high school at Irvington Community Schools.
—Submitted by a parent

This was the first year for my son he is in the first grade and I can say that they have them doing things that I never knew first grades were doing. I really enjoy haveing him here they are strict but fare, and they are their to help all students and they have students of all walks of life and the are not treated any diffrently
—Submitted by a parent

This is my child's second year. The administration has improved but organization and consistency needs improvement. I have had an excellent experience with most of the m.s. teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

Favoritism, poor quality of middle school teachers, and what appears to be adminstrative problems. You don't get student handbooks. Parents can seldom interact with staff members. Unprofessionalism is the rule more than the exception. My experience with this school was extremely disappointing.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at ICS awhile and I see there is a definite problem with the administration and its consistency.Good luck getting straight answers.Also,lack of quality teachers in the upper grades and the good ones they do have, leave out of frustration.They have a high student and teacher turnover.People stay because they don't want to go to IPS,not because its a good school!
—Submitted by a parent

This is the greatest school ever.
—Submitted by a student