Indianapolis Public Schools is doing transportation in a new way. The Board of School Commissioners recently approved a new Two-Tier Transportation Model for the 2018-19 school year that is expected to create more efficient bus routes and improve overall use of district transportation funds. The unanimous (7-0) vote comes after months of community engagement with our students and families, and is shaped largely by the feedback received from the broader IPS community.
The new two-tier model will address the district’s resource constraints, improve the quality of overall service, and maximize the use of buses and bus drivers — all while implementing the new All-Choice High School model that supports a student’s decision to attend any IPS high school regardless of the geographic location.
2018-19 Transportation Model
Along with new bus times comes new start times for some IPS schools. Nearly 80 percent of the district’s schools will have a shift of 10 minutes or less in bell times. In addition, high schools and middle schools will experience a 10-minute adjustment to their p.m. bell time.
2018-19 School Bell Times
| Bell Time | School |
| 7:20-2:10 | Arlington Middle School |
| Crispus Attucks High School | |
| Harshman Middle School | |
| Henry W. Longfellow Medical/STEM Middle School | |
| Newcomer Program | |
| Northwest Middle School | |
| Step Ahead | |
| Graduation Academy | |
| Arsenal Technical High School | |
| George Washington High School | |
| 7:20-2:55 | Indiana School for the Blind |
| Indiana School for the Deaf | |
| 7:20-3:20 | Washington Irving School 14 |
| 7:20-4:00 | Ignite Achievement Academy at Elder Diggs |
| 7:30-2:20 | Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School |
| 7:35-2:10 | Lew Wallace School 107 |
| 7:35-2:15 | William Penn School 49 |
| 7:40-2:15 | SUPER School 19 |
| Phalen Leadership Academy at George H. Fisher School 93 | |
| Meredith Nicholson School 96 | |
| William Penn School 49 | |
| 7:45-2:30 | Kindezi Academy at Joyce Kilmer 69 |
| 7:50-1:30 | McFarland (Homebound, Off-Campus Instruction, ROOTS) |
| 8:20-4:20 | KIPP Indy College Prep Middle School |
| 8:25-4:00 | Global Preparatory Academy at Riverside 44 |
| 9:00-4:00 | Cold Spring School |
| Phalen Leadership Academy at Francis Scott Key 103 | |
| 9:00-4:15 | Wendell Phillips School 63 |
| 9:15-4:00 | Shortridge High School |
| Bell Time | School |
| 9:20-3:55 | Arlington Woods School 99 |
| Eliza A. Blaker School 55 | |
| IPS/Butler University Laboratory School 60 | |
| Francis Bellamy Pre-School Center | |
| Raymond F. Brandes School 65 | |
| Anna Brochhausen School 88 | |
| Brookside School 54 | |
| George S. Buck School 94 | |
| George Washington Carver School 87 | |
| Center for Inquiry School 2 | |
| Center for Inquiry School 27 | |
| Center for Inquiry School 70 | |
| Center for Inquiry School 84 | |
| Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105 | |
| Clarence Farrington School 61 | |
| Stephen Foster School 67 | |
| James A. Garfield School 31 | |
| Jonathan Jennings School 109 | |
| George W. Julian School 57 | |
| Robert Lee Frost School 106 | |
| Rousseau McClellan Montessori School 91 | |
| William McKinley School 39 | |
| Paul I. Miller School 114 | |
| Christian Park School 82 | |
| Francis W. Parker School 56 | |
| Theodore Potter School 74 | |
| Ernie Pyle School 90 | |
| Louis B. Russell Jr. School 48 | |
| James Russell Lowell School 51 | |
| Sidener Academy for High Ability Students | |
| Eleanor Skillen School 34 | |
| Floro Torrence School 83 | |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson School 58 | |
| Daniel Webster School 46 | |
| James Whitcomb Riley School 43 | |
| Carl Wilde School 79 |
As the district continues to offer more autonomy in all of our schools, it is also looking at public transportation as a viable option for students. Starting, May 1, 2018, IPS and IndyGo will start a two-month pilot program with Shortridge High School. For all of May and throughout the month of August, 500 participating students will ride IndyGo buses as an alternative to their normal school buses. Each student will receive a pass that, along with their student ID, allows them to ride IndyGo buses anywhere in the city. The program aims to shorten commutes and make it easier for students to maintain after-school employment and babysitting duties – responsibilities students overwhelmingly stated were important to them when surveyed.
IndyGo has also offered participating students a two-month summer pass to increase their familiarity with riding public transportation. Participating students will be surveyed weekly and qualitative feedback from parents will also be collected.
A recap of all data will be presented to the Board of School Commissioners at a yet-to-be-determined Board meeting.