New Purdue Polytechnic HS Targets Workforce

The founding principal for the second Purdue Polytechnic High School location in Indianapolis says the school’s mission is to make sure all students have access to a high-quality education. Plans for the new school, which will initially be located in a former Central Indiana Community Foundation building in Broad Ripple, were announced Tuesday morning. Keeanna Warren says serving in her new role fulfills a goal she set when the first Purdue Polytechnic High School was unveiled.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business reporter Mary-Rachel Redman, Warren outlined some of the school’s goals. 

"We are very passionate about making sure that underrepresented minorities have access to high-quality education, specifically in STEM," said Warren. "So we’ll know that we’re successful once we increase that pipeline of students who are academically and socially prepared for the workforce or for any post-secondary education they pursue."

The tuition-free public charter school is set to open in the fall with a freshman class of up to 150 students. Warren said her goal is for every student to know that they are valued and appreciated at the school.

"Our academic model and curriculum allows for really individualized attention for each student and students are really most successful when they’re in an environment that is supportive and that they know that they’re valued and that they’re free to make mistakes, they’re free to learn and grow and they know that they can be vulnerable in the space," said Warren. "So really my personal mission is just to make sure that every student is valued and loved."

Warren says they are continuing to work with neighborhood associations, as well as various middle schools in the area, to make the school known and to learn what students and families want to see from the school. 

Prior to joining Purdue Polytechnic, Warren served as school director for the Excel Center in the Meadows neighborhood in Indianapolis. She began her education career as a fifth grade teacher at the Andrew J. Brown Academy charter school and Nora Elementary School on the city’s north side.