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The International School of Indiana has unveiled its 10-year Campus Master Plan designed to “guide the next decade of growth” for the campus on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
The plan, which has an estimated cost of $15.5 million, will feature a series of infrastructure upgrades, facility additions and enhancements, and an endowment to fuel long-term campus maintenance.
“By embracing a forward-thinking approach grounded in our current capabilities and future aspirations, we are poised to continue our campus transformation, building on its strong foundation,” Head of School Elizabeth Head said in the school’s announcement of the plan.
Head told Inside INdiana Business that the master plan builds on a capital campaign completed in 2022 that unified the school on a single campus with the opening of the $13.5 million Chen Family Lower School building.
She said the International School has seen steady annual enrollment growth in the last several years, which led school officials to start thinking about the future.
“So over the last couple of years, we involved all of our community constituents, board members, parents, students, staff, leadership team in a strategic planning process,” she said. “It lasted about a year. We received over 600 different pieces of feedback in terms of what are the next steps. We went through a feasibility study where we talked to some of the main donors from the last campaign, and all of that led us to determining what our 10-year Campus Master Plan would look like.”
The International School of Indiana opened in 1994 with a single building on 63 acres of land. It has since grown to a campus of three academic buildings serving more than 500 students from preschool through grade 12. Annual tuition at the school ranges from about $23,000 to more than $30,000, plus fees.
The master plan will take a three-phased approach, with the first focusing on addressing the school’s most urgent deferred maintenance priorities, including roadways, parking lots, pathways and water retention.
The school also plans to develop what will be known as International Plaza, with the centerpiece being the 66-foot replica Eiffel Tower that was originally built for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Indianapolis and donated to the school by the Indiana Sports Corp earlier this year.
The International Plaza is designed to connect the entire campus, according to Head.
“We’re building the International Plaza right by all of our major sports facilities, our track and field. We’ll be adding tennis courts out there,” she said. “It will have a covered pavilion, restrooms, concessions, and it will connect all of the buildings of our campus through various walkways that all arrive at this International Plaza, which will have the Eiffel Tower prominently displayed and full of lights.”
The first phase will also see a remodel of the school’s track and field with bleachers, a new scoreboard and lighting.
The second phase of the master plan focuses on projects essential to growth of ISI’s Upper School. Plans call for an expansion of the Blackwell building–the school’s original facility–to include permanent athletic facilities, offices and storage space.
ISI also plans to add into the Daneri Family Gymnasium with a dedicated entrance, fan-friendly lobby, locker rooms and expanded storage that Head says will allow the school to host more IHSAA games.
The third and final phase focuses on projects “essential to sustainability,” including overall enhancements to existing buildings such as new paint, carpet, fixtures, and furniture. ISI also plans to add six new tennis courts to bring the sport to all grade levels as part of this phase.
Head says the reaction to the master plan from the ISI community has been extremely positive.
“They see their voice come to life, especially in these different images that we’ve created with our architects, because it really shows what the community has been hoping for as our next growth step,” she said. “So it’s fun for our community to see that all of their voices were heard, that they are able to take part of building the future of ISI.”
You can learn more about the master plan by clicking here.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the founding date to 1994.
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Sounds like very good news!