Cherry Tree Elementary School

Cherry Tree Elementary School operates as a big primary school in Carmel, Indiana, operated by Carmel Clay Schools. Current enrollment sits at 711 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 436 students per school, that is 63% above typical.

Across the 15 schools in Carmel Clay Schools (16,145 students total), Cherry Tree Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Cherry Tree Elementary School lists that nearly all students (82%) are White. Beyond that, the school lists 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 3% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Cherry Tree Elementary School lists 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.7:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 13% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Cherry Tree Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 66.4%, the actual is 72.2%, a residual of +5.8 points.

Around the school, Hamilton County reports that the typical household earns roughly $121,530 per year, 62% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 3% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Hamilton County runs 69 public schools (combined enrollment of about 63,065 students), of which Cherry Tree Elementary School is one.

Prairie Trace Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.3 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cherry Tree Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 68.8%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cherry Tree Elementary School has showed little movement, going from 706 students in 2018 to 711 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 3% to 9%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 20.2:1 in 2018 to 15.7:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Cherry Tree Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.