Coleman 1

Ellei Coleman

Dr. Madrazo

ED 299

20 February 2023

Hamilton Southeastern High School

Located in Fishers, Indiana, Hamilton Southeastern High School is one of two high

schools in the Hamilton Southeastern school district. It is a public school with about 3,405

students and just under 200 teachers. In past years, it has received an A from the state and a

federal rating of ‘meets expectations’ (“Hamilton”). It is one of the largest public high schools in

the state. With a diverse curriculum and an abundant community around them, Hamilton

Southeastern High School has been able to create a school environment with many opportunities

and experiences.

The curriculum is an essential part of schooling and Hamilton Southeastern is no

different when it comes to its curricular offerings. The base of their curriculum is the Indiana

State Standards and the Essential Learning Outcomes that Hamilton Southeastern has created

based on the standards. In conjunction with these standards and objectives, they use many

different resources and materials to help meet the created goals. Hamilton Southeastern’s

curriculum includes fifty AP and Dual Credit courses and almost 20 honors courses. These

courses continue to allow students to be challenged and prepared for college. Much of Hamilton

Southeastern’s teaching is also centered around community-based and social-emotional learning.

Community-based learning allows students to interact with the community while learning, both

inside and outside the classroom. Additionally, social-emotional learning allows students to learn

more about their emotional intelligence, including emotions, goal, relationships, and decisions.
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These inclusions to the curriculum allow students to be a part of their community and learn more

about it and themselves. Finally, with its curriculum, Hamilton Southeastern offers 1:1

technology and practices and a “balanced” academic calendar (“HSE Schools”). These

technology and calendar practices are pretty common in Indiana today and allow students to have

two-week breaks throughout the year and about eight weeks for summer. Hamilton

Southeastern’s calendar and curriculum allow students to have balance, as well as many

educational experiences and opportunities while learning.

These curricular offerings give students many opportunities to learn about what they love

and relate it back to their community and themselves. The two major benefits of Hamilton

Southeastern’s curriculum are its community-based learning and social-emotional learning. The

student body demographics of Hamilton Southeastern are comparable to the Fishers community

itself and including community-based learning allows this connection to be directly made (“U.S.

Census”). Additionally, curricular offerings help prepare students for college. Hamilton

Southeastern’s graduation and college attendance after graduation are both higher than the state

average by ten percent and seven percent respectively (“Hamilton”). With the higher graduation

numbers, Hamilton Southeastern is able to support its students better with so many different

courses offered in its curriculum. They also offer many courses in business, IT, engineering,

technology, manufacturing, and construction (“Departments”). These broad offerings allow

students who may not be looking to go to college opportunities and career preparation. Even

more, students who do go to college are prepared with the many AP and Duel Credit courses

offered. The courses at Hamilton Southeastern allow students to be prepared for the real world

much better than other schools with a curriculum that only focuses on the core classes and

graduation requirements.
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When taking into account the resources and services available for students, Hamilton

Southeastern also has a good amount of offerings. Within the building, there is a library and

media center (“Library”). In addition, through the guidance office, a learning lab with peer

tutoring and a writing center is offered (“Support”). These spaces allow students to get help with

subjects that they are struggling with and find more resources (Hamilton Southeastern High).

Considering marginalized groups and special education students, under IDEA and 504, Hamilton

Southeastern is required to give students accommodations that allow them to receive the best

learning experience for them and free education. With this in mind, students that are

economically disadvantaged, 13.5%, English learners, 1.9%, and students with disabilities,

11.2%, all receive accommodations and access to the classes that allow them to learn best

(“Hamilton”). Hamilton Southeastern has their community's support and with this in mind, about

ninety-eight of all expenditures use state and local funds. This means that these services and

resources that are offered are funded by mostly state funding and just a little bit of federal

funding, two percent. This funding allows Hamilton Southeastern to make many of these

resources available and give students the accommodations they need to excel in school.

Considering the community itself around Hamilton Southeastern, it plays an integral part

in the success and influence of the school. The community of Fishers is rich with parks, libraries,

businesses, and restaurants. There is a lot around for students and families to do. With everything

that the Fisher’s community offers, it also means that there is a lot of community support for

education. Many businesses and companies will sponsor the school and specific programs and

athletics within the school. The Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation itself is overseen by a

Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is a seven-person board of elected members from each

district or township within the school district. This board has public meetings and they work to
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make major decisions and improvements for the school district (“Board”). As of the 2021-2022

school year, their main goals for the district were communication, academics, and operations

(Board). Voted on by the community, the Hamilton Southeastern Board of Trustees oversees all

parts of the school’s purpose and each student’s education. With the Board of Trustees and the

community of Fisher’s support, there is a good amount of community influence on the school.

Throughout the years, there have been many reform efforts in education, and Hamilton

Southeastern is not excluded from these. A major current reform effort right now is teacher

salary and making it higher. As of 2022, the teacher salary at Hamilton Southeastern ranged from

$41,484 to $82,385 (“Hamilton”). This salary range is reasonably higher than most other Indiana

schools. In addition to this, Hamilton Southeastern Schools has created a school improvement

plan to help combat other reform movements. Topics highlighted in this plan include

achievement and the achievement gap, students’ sense of belonging, teachers’ perception of the

school climate, and improving equity and access. Most of this plan focuses on increasing the

percentage of minority students in AP and Dual credit enrollment and improving their overall

achievement and feeling of inclusion at the school. When looking at past data, the percentages

for these focuses have increased each year (Strategic). These improvements have seen success

and will hopefully continue to see success since diversity, equity, and inclusion is another major

reform movement right now. Educational reform is an important part of any school and

community. Hamilton Southeastern has taken many steps to make improvements to their school

and has put practices in place that combat and work with current reform movements.

The community of Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern High School is full of experiences

and opportunities. The school itself has higher graduation rates and proficiency scores than the

state average. In addition to their broad course and curricular offerings, they also have 25 athletic
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teams and about 80 clubs for all interests. The Fisher’s community also offers many

opportunities and has plenty for people to do. All things considered, Hamilton Southeastern’s ‘A’

rating by the state is justifiable and they offer great educational opportunities for all of their

students.
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Works Cited

Board Goals 21-22 V4 - Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

https://www.hseschools.org/HSE/media/HSE-District-Documents/board/Board-Goals-21-

22_v4.pdf.

“Board of School Trustees.” Board of School Trustees - Hamilton Southeastern Schools,

https://www.hseschools.org/meet-hse/board.

“Churches by State.” Church Angel, 22 May 2020,

https://www.churchangel.com/churches-by-state/indiana/fishers/.

“Contact Us: Hamilton East Public Library: Noblesville: Fishers.” Hamilton East Public Library

Website, 7 Oct. 2021, https://www.hepl.lib.in.us/contact-us/.

“Departments.” Departments - HSE High School,

https://hhs.hseschools.org/academics/departments.

Fishers, in - Official Website | Official Website.

https://www.fishers.in.us/DocumentCenter/View/26809/Fishers2021_Booklet_Residents

Guide_DIGITAL.

Fishers, This Is. “Shop Fishers.” This Is Fishers, 30 July 2021,

https://www.thisisfishers.com/shop-fishers-3/.
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Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, in - US News Best High …

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/indiana/districts/hamilton-southeas

tern-schools/hamilton-southeastern-high-school-7408.

Hamilton Southeastern Royals, https://hseroyalsathletics.com/.

Hamilton Southeastern High School.

https://hhs.hseschools.org/MediaLibraries/HHS/HHS-Website-Docs/Guidance/School-pr

ofile-2021-22.pdf.

“Hamilton Southeastern HS (2499) | Indiana.” Indiana Department of Education,

https://inview.doe.in.gov/schools/1030052499/graduation.

“Home.” Public School Review - Profiles of USA Public Schools,

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/indiana/hamilton-county/charter.

“Home.” Top 3 Best Private Schools in Fishers, IN (2023),

https://www.privateschoolreview.com/indiana/fishers.

“HSE Schools.” Home - Hamilton Southeastern Schools, https://www.hseschools.org/.

In.gov | the Official Website of the State of Indiana.

https://www.in.gov/doe/files/2021-2022-Annual-Report-0428-Final.pdf.

“Library / Media Center.” Library / Media Center - HSE High School,

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https://hhs.hseschools.org/academics/library-media-center.

Non-Profit Organizations Serving Fishers, Indiana, https://fishersnpc.com/local-non-profits/.

“Parks & Amenities.” Parks & Amenities | Fishers Parks & Recreation, IN,

https://www.playfishers.com/31/Parks-Amenities.

Professional Agreement - Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

https://www.hseschools.org/HSE/media/HSE-District-Documents/hr/7-1-19-to-6-30-21-P

rofessional-Agreement.pdf.

“School District Interactive Map.” School District Interactive Map: STATS Indiana,

https://www.stats.indiana.edu/maptools/schooldistrictsmap.asp.

“Search.” Visit Hamilton County Indiana,

https://www.visithamiltoncounty.com/search/?q=community+centers.

“Sponsors.” Hamilton Southeastern High School Bands, https://www.hsehsbands.com/sponsors.

Strategic and Continuous School Improvement and Achievement Plan 2022-23.

https://hhs.hseschools.org/MediaLibraries/HHS/HHS-Website-Docs/Miscellaneous/HHS-

SIP-2022-2023.pdf.
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“Support and Tutoring.” Support and Tutoring - HSE High School,

https://hhs.hseschools.org/counseling/advising/support-and-tutoring.

“Top 10 Best Religious+Organizations in Fishers, in - February 2023.” Yelp,

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Religious%2BOrganizations&find_loc=Fishers

%2C%2BIN.

“U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: United States.” United States Census,

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI125221.

“Visit Hamilton County, IN: Events, Attractions, Restaurants.” Visit Hamilton County Indiana,

https://www.visithamiltoncounty.com/.