Amelia Pak-Harvey
| Chalkbeat Indiana
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The Purdue Polytechnic High School board of directors will close the charter network’s South Bend location amid financial challenges while it focuses on the long-term stability of its two remaining Indianapolis campuses.
The decision comes amid declining enrollment at both its South Bend and Broad Ripple campuses that could signal a broader enrollment challenge for both traditional public and charter schools. The South Bend location served 112 students this year, according to state enrollment records.
PPHS declined an interview through a public relations professional and did not answer specific questions about the South Bend closure. And it’s unclear if the network still has plans for a third Indianapolis location as previously planned.
In June, OEI issued a notice of deficiency for the network’s two Indianapolis campuses that cited concerns over financial reporting and missed enrollment targets at the Broad Ripple campus.
But in a statement last week, OEI Executive Director Shaina Cavazos said the school is well-positioned to build strong fiscal health based on recent performance and enrollment trends.
“Throughout my communication with the board and school leadership, it has been clear the focus remains on building strong fiscal health for the Indianapolis schools,” Cavazos said.
In South Bend, a partnership with the Career Academy Network of Public Schools — another charter network with four schools in South Bend — allows PPHS South Bend students to be offered priority enrollment at Career Academy schools next school year, the network said in a press release. South Bend staff members will also be able to interview for open positions at Career Academy locations.
Fast growth in first campus sparks quick launch of two others
PPHS launched in Indianapolis in 2017 with the support of former Governor and then-Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. The high school model focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math with a goal of increasing the number of historically underserved students of color attending Purdue University.
The network’s first location in the east side area of Englewood, approved by the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, grew by one grade each year and has since seen year-over-year enrollment growth with 617 students this year, according to state enrollment records.
The network launched two other locations in quick succession. In 2019-20, PPHS North, also approved by OEI, opened with 64 students and later moved into Broad Ripple Middle School through a partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools. The next year, PPHS opened its South Bend campus.
But both of those locations have been losing students in recent years. In Broad Ripple, enrollment has dropped from its high of 283 in 2022-23 to 220 this school year, well below the maximum 600 threshold that the school pitched to the mayor’s office in its application.
In South Bend, enrollment peaked in 2023-24 at 154 and now sits at 112. In its application to the Indiana Charter School Board — which authorized the South Bend campus — it planned for a capacity of 500.
Another charter authorizer, Education One at Trine University, approved PPHS to open a third high school in Indianapolis in 2023. That opening date has been repeatedly delayed.
The school’s spokesperson did not answer a question on whether it would still open that campus.
Education One executive director Emily Gaskill said in an email that the school was approved but a charter agreement was never executed. If a charter is not executed for a school, then the school would need to reapply, she said.
Focusing on the network’s Indianapolis schools will strengthen the Purdue brand in Indianapolis, a spokesperson for PPHS said. Purdue University is expanding its presence in the city with the creation of Purdue University Indianapolis, which launched in 2024 after Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis split into two schools.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
