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James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School

Public, Charter Grades 7-8

399^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 486 Indiana Middle Schools

Better than 18% of Indiana middle schools

Summary

James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School is a small middle school in Indianapolis, IN, serving grades 7–8 with 296 students. About 73% of its students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25, per-student spending was $15,353 in 2023–24, and its student-teacher ratio was 12.8 in 2024–25.

Its clearest strength is attendance. Chronic absenteeism dropped from 64.6% in 2021–22 to 9.6% in 2024–25 — far below Indiana's 16.7% and lower than every nearby school with comparable data, including Raymond Park Intermediate & Middle at 18.8%, Eastwood Middle School at 15.3%, and Avondale Meadows Middle School at 28.6%. Academics remain the harder challenge: 2025–26 ILEARN proficiency was 18.44% in English language arts and 14.34% in math, both well below state levels. Eighth-grade math is the weakest spot at 7.74% proficient, compared with 34.2% statewide, while 7th-grade math was stronger at 22.58%.

Phalen trails nearby Eastwood Middle School (47.33% ELA, 47.77% math) and Fall Creek Valley Middle School (44.80% ELA, 28.86% math), and also sits below Circle City Preparatory Middle School (23.68% ELA, 17.54% math) despite that school serving a higher-poverty population. Phalen does outperform Thomas Carr Howe Middle School - an IB World School in both subjects. Its state rank improved to the 18th percentile in 2025–26 from 6–8% in earlier years, though it remains a 1-star school. It spends more per student than every nearby school with available data; the task ahead is turning those resources and better attendance into stronger classroom results, especially in 8th grade.

296

Students ?

12.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,353

Per pupil spending ?

73.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4352 Mitthoeffer Road
Indianapolis, IN 46235

(317) 552-1600

District: James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

63.2%

Hispanic:

32.1%

Two or more races:

3.7%

See top rated Indiana middle schools

Compare James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 6th percentile in 2019 → 18th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school16%

District avg16%

399^th of 486

Indiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 18%▲ up 12 pts since 2019

From bottom 6% (2019) to bottom 18% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

324^th of 374James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School among Indiana districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	17.4	399 of 486	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	13.9	408 of 480	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.9	432 of 491	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.5	452 of 489	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.6	450 of 490	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.5	454 of 483	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.0	440 of 470	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts18%

Math14%

★

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Schools Near James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)					ILEARN Math (2026)					ILEARN Science (2026)		ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School	Public, Charter	7-8	4352 Mitthoeffer Road	Indianapolis	46235	Marion County	James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(317) 552-1600	296	23	12.8	73.3%	1 (0.3%)	187 (63.2%)	95 (32.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.7%)	17.4	399^th of 486 public middle schools	17.9%		13.9	408^th of 480 public middle schools	15.0%	9			21.6	15.9	18.4			22.6	7.7	14.3					$15,353	$5,707	$9,647
Circle City Preparatory Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	4002 N. Franklin Rd.	Indianapolis	46226	Marion County	Circle City Prep Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(317) 643-4209	97	7	13.8	93.8%	5 (5.2%)	62 (63.9%)	28 (28.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	20	391^st of 486 public middle schools	19.5%		19.4	381^st of 480 public middle schools	20.6%	10		17.8	24.4	33.3	23.7		13.3	24.4	12.5	17.5	4.4	4.4
Fall Creek Valley Middle School	Public	7-8	9701 E 63rd St	Indianapolis	46236	Marion County	MSD Lawrence Township	No	No	No	No	(317) 964-6600	1,355	70	19.4	53.6%	249 (18.4%)	581 (42.9%)	436 (32.2%)	13 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (5.5%)	57.1	193^rd of 486 public middle schools	60.3%		35.6	321^st of 480 public middle schools	33.1%	128			47.3	42.6	44.8			30.6	27.3	28.9				78.2	$10,653	$639	$10,014
Stonybrook Intermediate & Middle	Public	5-8	11300 Stonybrook Dr	Indianapolis	46229	Marion County	MSD Warren Township	No	No	No	Yes	(317) 532-8800	1,043	71	14.6	66.7%	66 (6.3%)	621 (59.5%)	292 (28.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (6.0%)	20.3	388^th of 486 public middle schools	20.2%		13.5	413^th of 480 public middle schools	14.0%	25	20.7	26.3	29.9	22.4	24.7	13.6	16.9	15.3	12.0	14.5	8.8	8.8	15.1		$12,367	$1,164	$11,203
Belzer Middle School	Public	7-8	7555 E 56th St	Indianapolis	46226	Marion County	MSD Lawrence Township	No	No	No	No	(317) 964-6200	1,119	72	15.6	63.9%	77 (6.9%)	586 (52.4%)	374 (33.4%)	9 (0.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	70 (6.3%)	16.7	407^th of 486 public middle schools	16.3%		12.1	424^th of 480 public middle schools	11.7%	17			19.4	20.9	20.2			16.1	10.4	13.2				84.2	$11,566	$1,014	$10,553
Irvington Community Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	6040 E. Pleasant Run Parkway	Indianapolis	46219	Marion County	Irvington Community Middle School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(317) 357-3850	238	17	14.0	63.4%	126 (52.9%)	44 (18.5%)	42 (17.6%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (10.1%)	20.5	386^th of 486 public middle schools	20.6%					(n/a)		12.7	29.3	25.7	22.7		5.6	13.3	18.9	12.7	23.9	23.9
Eastwood Middle School	Public	6-8	4401 E 62nd St	Indianapolis	46220	Marion County	MSD Washington Township	No	No	No	No	(317) 259-5401	845	56	15.1	37.5%	350 (41.4%)	313 (37.0%)	122 (14.4%)	11 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	48 (5.7%)	75	107^th of 486 public middle schools	78.0%		70.7	122^nd of 480 public middle schools	74.6%	15		46.3	45.5	50.2	47.3		49.3	53.5	40.8	47.8	44.9	44.9		88.4	$13,435	$951	$12,484
Creston Intermediate & Middle School	Public	5-8	10925 E Prospect St	Indianapolis	46239	Marion County	MSD Warren Township	No	No	No	Yes	(317) 532-6800	1,106	71	15.4	63.7%	97 (8.8%)	709 (64.1%)	204 (18.4%)	9 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	85 (7.7%)	15.7	414^th of 486 public middle schools	14.8%		13.8	409^th of 480 public middle schools	14.8%	5	27.5	20.1	22.1	21.4	22.7	16.8	11.2	7.4	17.8	13.4	10.8	10.8	20.3		$11,721	$1,288	$10,433
Avondale Meadows Middle School	Public, Charter	5-8	3980 Meadows Dr	Indianapolis	46205	Marion County	Avondale Meadows Middle School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(317) 550-3363	192	14	13.7	95.3%	0 (0.0%)	159 (82.8%)	16 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.9%)	21.9	384^th of 486 public middle schools	21.0%		12.5	422^nd of 480 public middle schools	12.1%	38	10.4	19.4	33.3	22.5	21.3	6.3	13.9	15.6	7.5	10.7	25.7	25.7	29.2		$13,343	$2,603	$10,740
Thomas Carr Howe Middle School - an IB World School	Public	6-8	4900 Julian Ave.	Indianapolis	46220	Marion County	Indianapolis Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(317) 693-5560	455	43	10.7	70.8%	140 (30.8%)	160 (35.2%)	115 (25.3%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.9%)	9.6	451^st of 486 public middle schools	7.2%					(n/a)		16.5	9.0	13.6	12.8		11.8	6.7	6.8	8.2	14.4	14.4		72.2

Frequently Asked Questions about James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School

What district is James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School in?

James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School

How many students attend James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 296 students attended James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School.

Is James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School a good school?

James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School ranks in the bottom 17.9% of Indiana middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School?

Students at James & Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy Middle School are 63% African American, 32% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2025–26 ILEARN & SAT test scoresNewSep 25, 2026

2024–25 graduation ratesJan 5, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataSep 4, 2025

2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataJul 16, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Indiana Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.