Riverside to Build on Herron High School's Success

"Herron wasn't built in a day," reads the front page of the inaugural Herron High School yearbook. Now nationally ranked, Herron began in 2006 with just over 100 students crammed into the basement of the Harrison Center of the Arts, with which Herron maintains a close relationship to the day. Thanks to generous private and state funding, Herron High School has a permanent location on 16th and Pennsylvania, and will be opening a new campus in fall 2017 in the former Naval Armory Building. This sister school to Herron, Riverside High School, will host 200 ninth graders this upcoming fall, and gradually build to a full high school with capacity for 600 scholars.

Herron's origins in the basement of the Harrison Center have been instrumental in fostering the creative, community-based culture of this urban high school. The facilities present in an art studio/gallery drew students and faculty alike to the subterranean school, and secured Herron's foundations in the arts. Today, Herron High School's internship program encourages several seniors each year to intern with the HCA, myself included.

The Harrison Center, led by Executive Director Joanna Taft, founded Herron High School with a mission similar to the HCA's: engage in the Indianapolis community, encourage critical thinking, and serve as a catalyst for urban renewal. This same philosophy and world-class curriculum will carry over to Riverside High School, as they will also the partner with the Harrison Center. Justin Vining, a Harrison Center studio artist, was commissioned to create a painting of Riverside, which will soon be displayed both at Herron and on the billboard at 16th and Delaware.

Open enrollment is still available at Riverside High School for the inaugural freshman class. Submit an application or consider donating today to further this history of excellence fostered by Herron High School and the Harrison Center for the Arts!