Summary:
ZIP code 46225, on the near south side of Indianapolis, Indiana, contains two elementary schools: Christel House Academy South (grades K–8, 513 students, operating as its own Christel House Academy South district) and James A. Garfield School 31 - a STEM School (grades PK–8, 173 students, part of Indianapolis Public Schools). Together they enroll 686 students. Both currently hold a 1-star rating and rank in the bottom quartile of Indiana schools.
Garfield is the more volatile of the two. In 2024–2025 it ranked 666 of 1,005 schools (34th percentile) with 2 stars and beat its district in every core subject: 34.29% ELA, 31.43% Math, and 39.13% Science. A year later it fell to 904 of 1,015 (11th percentile) with 1 star, and proficiency dropped to 16.22% ELA, 14.86% Math, and 8.33% Science — a 30.8-point science decline. Garfield has the smallest classes here (6.8 students per teacher) and the highest per-student spending ($23,449), yet also the highest chronic absenteeism at 41.7%, which is 25.0 points above the state and 9.5 points above its district. With only 173 students, grade-level results swing widely from year to year.
Christel House is larger and serves more students from low-income families (80.31% free/reduced lunch versus 65.32%) while spending less ($13,128 per student), but it has lower chronic absenteeism (36.0%, essentially even with its district and 19.3 points above the state). It is improving modestly from a low base: ELA rose from 16.38% to 21.37%, Science from 12.04% to 15.25%, and 5th-grade Social Studies from 8.47% to 21.82%, while Math slipped slightly. Every reported grade-level score at both schools remains below the state rate. The clearest contrast for parents: Garfield has far more resources and much smaller classes, yet currently posts weaker proficiency and worse attendance than Christel House.
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