H. L. Harshman Middle School

H. L. Harshman Middle School, a medium-sized intermediate school in Indianapolis, Indiana, part of Indianapolis Public Schools, educates 509 students, covering grades 6 through 8.

Indianapolis Public Schools runs 49 schools in total, collectively educating 21,055 students. H. L. Harshman Middle School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, H. L. Harshman Middle School reports that the largest single group is Hispanic at 45%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 32% White, 16% Black, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 14% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.6:1 average. About 47% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Marion County runs at roughly 60%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, H. L. Harshman Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.6%, the actual is 53.7%, a residual of +11.1 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Marion County put median household income runs about $66,346, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Across Marion County's 274 public schools (combined enrollment of about 161,456 students), H. L. Harshman Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Theodore Potter School 74 - a Dual Language School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around H. L. Harshman Middle School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts H. L. Harshman Middle School at 1st of 7; the average score across the group is 26.3%.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.

Over the past 7-year window. H. L. Harshman Middle School's enrollment has held roughly steady since 2018, when it stood at 517 (now 509). Over the same period, the White share edged up from 9% to 32%. Class-load math has grew: from 10.6:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.