Alyssa Pellegrini

Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
Carmel and West Clay School Analysis
Carmel is a town fifteen miles north of Indianapolis with a population of 92,918. The

gender split is almost 50-50 with 45,788 males and 46,410 females. The ethnicity of the

community is predominately white (80.9%) followed by 10.9% Asian, 3.5% Hispanic, and 2.6%

African American. Carmel “is ranked one of the top cities to live in among families, singles,

children, senior citizens, and veterans” (Yahoo.com). Carmel was also ranked “the #1 Best

Suburb to Live in America and #1 Best Place to Live in Indiana in 2019” (Niche). Jim Brainard,

the six-term mayor of Carmel, has pursued a strategy to redevelop the central core of Downtown

Carmel. Instead of continuing the ongoing trend of suburban sprawl, Brainard turned the city into

a sustainable, walkable, and bike-friendly area with almost 200 miles of various trails and paths.

He is a firm believer that quality of life attracts companies, and therefore used the arts as a tool

for economic development. After learning about Jim Brainard’s attempts to improve the city, we

were very excited to pick Carmel as our community. Our plan for visiting the community was to

drive to Carmel on February 24th, eat dinner at a local restaurant, attend a school board meeting,

and preview neighborhoods.

According to city-data.com, the average home value in Carmel is $345,900. This is more

than $200,000 over the Indiana average of $141,1000. Homes range from up to two million

dollars in select neighborhoods (Durbin and Crossfields) to $200,000 closer to the downtown

area. Carmel is a more pricey place to live compared to other Indiana neighborhoods, for this

reason it is not attainable for everyone. Carmel residents typically have a higher level of

education and a larger average income. 72.4% of residents have a bachelor’s degree with 32.0%

who have a graduate/professional degree. The average income is $109,858 which is more than
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
double the Indiana average (city-data.com). This above average income allows families to

provide a multitude of learning resources to help their children excel in school.

A person can clearly see the importance of community involvement. For play and

recreation, the Monon Community Center has a large variety of amenities for people of all ages.

This building has everything from a fitness center to a skatepark. The community offers

extracurricular activities such as Teen Night Out and Bowling Nights. Parks, trails, libraries,

museums, cultural centers, and religious centers offer many opportunities for community

engagement and cultural enrichment. Popular options among locals include, Central Park,

Carmel Clay Public Library, The Carmel Fire Buffs and Fire Department Museum, The

Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, and Carmel Christian Church.

Meridian Street, located in Carmel, has the second largest concentration of office workers

in all of Indiana: more than eighty corporate headquarters- including Delta Faucet, Monster.com,

Allegion, and CNO. Delta Faucet Company is “a division of Masco Corporation and is one of the

largest U.S. manufacturers of residential and commercial faucets” (LinkedIn). Delta provides a

large number of jobs to many Carmel community members. In addition to companies in the

manufacturing sector, Carmel also has a large number of companies in the service sector

-especially the food industry. This includes a wide variety of restaurants, that are both chain and

local. Some popular chain restaurants include Bazbeaux Pizza, Bru Burger Bar, Blaze Pizza, and

Yats, but our CORE II group wanted to dine local. Two very popular local places are Woody’s

Library Restaurant and Divvy Restaurant. It turns out, they are owned by the same people! The

group came to a consensus and decided to eat at Woody’s Library Restaurant, located in

Northern Carmel. My meal was delicious and our server, Nikki, was very helpful and

informative! We asked about the history of Woody’s and she gave us the entire timeline.
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
Woody’s was first a library from 1912 to 1970, it then transformed into a courthouse from 1972

to 1989. Afterwards, it became a thrift store from 1989-1998. Finally in 1998, it became the

unique restaurant it is now. I think the most intriguing part about the history of Woody’s was

when it was a courthouse. To this day, the restaurant still has the original book that kept track of

all the court cases and meetings. Nikki gave us the book and we were able to read it and see

examples of what cases were discussed over the years. After our meal, we embarked on our drive

to the school board meeting. We drove past Carmel Lions Club, a large nonprofit club that

“work(s) to improve [the] community - both locally and throughout the world - by performing

service projects and fundraising” (carmellions.org).

Carmel Clay’s School Board consists of five members. President Mike Kerschner, VP

Katie Browning, Secretary Lin Zheng, Member Pam Knowles and Member Layla Spanenberg.

Each one of these people brings a unique skill set to the board that not only benefits the Carmel

Clay school district but the community as well. Some of these skills include a shareholder,

attorney, account manager, substitute teacher, Girl Scout troop leader, clinical associate

professor, leader of study abroad programs, educational leader, community volunteer -and

perhaps more importantly, a husband, wife, mother, father, and a grandmother. Due to the vast

experience of the board members, Carmel Clay schools are in good hands with a school board

that is proactive and genuinely cares for its students.

West Clay Elementary School has 766 students and is located in Western Carmel. The

student to teacher ratio is roughly 20:1. Despite the town of Carmel not being very diverse,

36.4% of West Clay Elementary students are of a minority ethnicity. 6% of their students have

some form of a disability and an additional 3% use ENL services (seen in the graphs below).
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20

Due to West Clay’s outstanding average test scores, the school is ranked twelfth of 1,031 Indiana

elementary schools according to the SchoolDigger Ranking system. They ranked better than

98.8% of other elementary schools in the state, including eight other Carmel elementary schools.

At each grade level, West Clay students scored significantly higher than the Indiana average and

several percentage points above the Carmel Clay average (graph 3).
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20

West Clay’s school improvement plan provided on their website outlines the three various

strategies they desire to implement: providing responsive instruction to students, deepening the

understanding of student leadership skills, and analyzing NWEA data. With these goals in mind,

it is clear to see West Clay values the progression and development of their young students.

There are no specific college preparation courses, however, even as an elementary

school, West Clay offers a few extracurriculars such as Yearbook Club. West Clay uses a variety

of commercially-marketed platforms such as Canvas, G Suite, and PowerSchool Student Portal.

These technological-supportive resources help the students to perform better in school and

remain engaged in their learning.

Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
Although I was unable to locate the per-student expenditure in the school, 3.3% of

students at West Clay receive free/reduced lunch. The Carmel Clay school district’s operating

budget is $168.28 million (ballotpedia.org). Carmel is a wealthy area which assists in affording a

larger operating budget for the school district. The parents in this school district are also typically

very involved in their child’s education which has led to large involvement in the Parent Teacher

Organization. The PTO at each school, West Clay especially (https://www.ccs.k12.in.us/pto-

wce), continues to be very active within the school and community when it comes to fundraising

and donations.

West Clay Elementary is organized in grade levels that study for two semesters a year

with several vacations, including spring break, this schedule is traditional. West Clay seems to

utilize an instructional teaching philosophy which is common for students of this age. They make

sure this philosophy not only benefits the majority of their students but also those who receive

special services such as disability or ENL. As for their mission statement, West Clay claims they

are “dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes education and well being regardless of

ability, age, appearance, gender, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-

economic status” (https://www.ccs.k12.in.us/wce). After studying West Clay and Carmel, I think

the school does an excellent job of achieving this mission statement. Their extraordinary

achievement scores, high ranking, and diverse student body exemplifies the accomplishment of

the mission. West Clay clearly embraces Horace Mann’s philosophy of equal opportunity of

education. The influences of the School Reform Movement can be seen through the equitable

practices of West Clay. Their Vision is to have their students “becoming respectful citizens and

empowering them to be life-long learners…”. The school does an excellent job of executing this.

By encouraging their students to become active members in the community, the children are able
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
to grow as life-long learners through the plentiful and unique educational resources located in

Carmel!
Alyssa Pellegrini
Professor Meyer
CORE II: T/TH ~ 9:35-12:15
3/22/20
Resources

https://ballotpedia.org/Carmel_Clay_Schools,_Indiana

http://www.carmel.in.gov/?splash=https%3a%2f%2fwww.census.gov%2fquickfacts%2ffact

%2ftable%2fcarmelcityindiana%2fPST045216&____isexternal=true

https://www.carmellions.org/about

https://www.ccs.k12.in.us/board/board-members

https://www.ccs.k12.in.us/wce

http://www.city-data.com/city/Carmel-Indiana.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-places-raise-family-midwest-110002399.html

https://www.greatschools.org/indiana/carmel/3452-West-Clay-

Elementary/#Students_with_Disabilities

https://www.linkedin.com/company/delta-faucet-company

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/carmel-hamilton-in/

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1542725712/ccsk12inus/gnozswgdmy0tpx1dzwjg/WCE20

18-19schoolimprovement.pdf