Hoosier Academy - Indianapolis

We are finishing our second year at Hoosier Academy. The teaching staff is above average and work hard for the success of their students. The K-12 classes are challenging. Since students are home schooled as part of their education, there is a high level of parental involvement. If you want a quality education for your child and are willing to be involved with their education, I would recommend this school to you. If you have older children, there is a middle & High school program. They also have a totally virtual program that many home schoolers are using.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great combination of homeschooling and public school. The curriculum and expectations are higher than a regular public school. It is important the parents are dedicated in order to make this successful for their child. This is our first year but, so far so good! The teachers seem very devoted and we are very happy with our decision.
--Submitted by a parent

The school is a great compromise between home schooling and public schooling. I feel like my kids are getting a better education then they were in traditional public schooling. It allows for each student to have their individual needs addressed. From the gifted, to the kids that need a little help, as well as the kids that are just in the middle, it has been a great fit for us!
--Submitted by a parent

Being at this school for two years now, my family loves the school. Yes, being a first year parent can be tough, but after a few months you get the full swing of it. Hoosier Academy is a great school for challenged students. Every teacher, student, and staff member truly cares about each other. This isn't a school with a caste syestem and many bullies; it's a place students can call home. -A student

As a brand new Hoosier Academy family I find it to be very disorganized and overwhelming. I have 2 students attending. They email constantly with 1-4 attachments on almost every email. I like the teachers, but feel that instead of making the program easy to follow they just pile on more instruction for the learning coaches. There has to be a better way than just further complicating things! Instead of having the offline assignments laid out and easy to follow you have to do an entire elluminate session to get to the assignment. This would be ok, but I was told we can pace ourselves and use the pacing guide as just that a guide. In reality we are so behind that I don't know what to do. I have just gotten an email from his teacher about an assignment we didn't turn in. My son's first day was last week, due to being a late starter, and they expect the first week of school work to just be piled on top of the other work. They have all of their classes on top of the I-step preparedness study that is done on study island, which is also required. I just don't understand how we can do all of it in one day. I'm losing my mind, and anxious that I'll get my kids kicked out of school.
--Submitted by a parent

Our experience was nothing like the last review submitted. We were at Hoosier Academy Indianapolis for 3 years. Each year they have made changes that were both a surprise and that took them farther away from the format the school began with. This format, of course, was the whole reason we chose HAINDY in the first place. We stuck with it, hoping things would improve, but the leaders obviously have an agenda that they are working toward, and it has nothing to do with what most of the parents I have spoken with want. We are now leaving, along with several wonderful, quality families. One of the saddest things we saw happen was the way the "ones in charge" got rid of people working at the school with no real explanation, and never giving students a chance to say goodbye. The first headmaster was well-loved by the children and families, but was replaced over the second summer. The second headmaster also became well-loved, and was replaced in the middle of the year. Some of the other staff were let go with no explanation. Yet one of those "in charge" has a very abrasive personality, and stays on. . . . .
--Submitted by a parent

We love Hoosier Academies Indianapolis! The teachers and staff are in constant communication with us as parents. In fact, we communicate on a daily basis through special KMails. The school strives to help each child be successful and they provide many avenues to achieve that. The teachers work hard and work with the parents, as a team, to educate the children. We have the art of technology at our fingertips, both at home, with live elluminate classes online and at school with Smart Boards in each classroom. The families have many opportunities to get to to know each other and allow social time outside of school with the many activities planned by the school staff. Each year, the school gets better and changes are made, as needed, to continually improve for the better.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter LOVES this school after being very unhappy in her public school last year. Her teacher is wonderful and works very hard. The curriculum is great! The school is small and it feels like more of a "community" than an enormous public school. If you are new to home-schooling then be prepared to work hard as your child's learning coach. Having 2 days off teaching every week while your kids are in the learning center is a big plus. If you are a full-time home-schooler wanting to transition to hybrid, be warned that you really have to follow the school's lesson schedule or your child won't be able to keep up on learning center days. I have to agree with other reviewers that the administration has made a questionable choice in implementing the Family Accountability Plan. It is the 10 point system that someone else referred to. It puts extra strain on families and teachers. I would be happier if they found another way to keep the families accountable for their child(ren)'s progress (which I assume they have to do in order to keep their test scores up and maintain funding). Overall we're very happy at this school.
--Submitted by a parent

I would have to have to agree with the more current reviews. Hoosier Academy as an institution is horribly mismanaged. Communication is dismal concerning board meetings, minutes and upper management. The upper administration bullies teachers and runs on a system of fear. The people who make the decisions in the system are not even educators. The teachers and principal, however, are caring, wonderful, creative educators who are working under stressful circumstances. We have been at Hoosier Academy since the doors opened, but this year there has been a big shift in the way parents and teachers are treated by the upper administration. If it weren't for the k-8 principal and the teachers, I would have withdrawn my child this year. I'm not sure that we can return next year unless the upper administration changes.
--Submitted by a parent

I would have to agree with some of the parents who have commented on recent changes. First and foremost, We have had phenomenol experiences with our teachers both years we have been there. the k12 /ols system last year was very helpful and facilitated assignment completion and recording very well. this year that is not the case. the system has devolved into little more than a monitoring tool, used more to idenitfy potential problem families than in facilitating learning. As is the case in many areas of the State's approach to education, accountability for parents and teachers with little if any for adminstrators or decision/policy makers, facilitating access to dollars rather than achievement (the wonderful formula of butts in seats X days to the power of the istep score) is well in force. While in past years, adminsitration/K12 personnel have been open responsive and personable, this is not the case currently
--Submitted by a parent