Forest Dale Elementary School

Forest Dale Elementary School operates as a middle-of-the-pack K-5 school in Carmel, Indiana, overseen by Carmel Clay Schools. Current enrollment sits at 638 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Indiana's public schools average about 436 students each, so Forest Dale Elementary School sits 46% bigger than that benchmark.

Carmel Clay Schools runs 15 schools in total, collectively educating 16,145 students. Forest Dale Elementary School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Forest Dale Elementary School lists that White students make up the majority at 75%. The remainder reads as 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 6% Asian, 4% multiracial.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 48 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.4:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.5:1 average. An estimated 18% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, Forest Dale Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 62.8%, the actual is 68.5%, a residual of +5.7 points.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Hamilton County put the typical household earns roughly $121,530 per year, 62% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 3%. Across Hamilton County's 69 public schools (combined enrollment of about 63,065 students), Forest Dale Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Woodbrook Elementary School, around 1.1 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Forest Dale Elementary School at 1st of 6; the average score across the group is 59.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Forest Dale Elementary School has fell 4%, going from 663 students in 2018 to 638 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 4% to 9% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 20.4:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.