Perry Township Schools

Building Career Pathways Through Business Partnerships and Career Connected Learning

One of Indiana’s Most Diverse School Districts Connects 16,000 Students with Employers Through Entrepreneurship Programs and a $40 Million Innovation Center.

On the Southside of Indianapolis, Perry Township Schools is reimagining how 16,044 students prepare for their futures. The district, Indiana’s 8th largest, serves one of the most diverse student populations in the state. With 70% minority enrollment and students from more than 60 countries speaking 80+ languages and dialects, including one of the nation’s largest Burmese communities, Perry Township faces a unique challenge: how to ensure every student graduates with both the skills and confidence to succeed in an economy that demands more than academic knowledge alone.

Dr. Patrick Spray, who became superintendent in July 2023 after leading Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation for nearly a decade, emphasizes the need for early career exploration. “How can we shift to include early career exploration so our students see how their learning connects to real careers from the very beginning?” Dr. Spray asks, describing the district’s approach as a fundamental shift. Students now engage with local businesses, learn alongside professionals, and tackle real-world problems starting in elementary school rather than waiting until high school to begin thinking about careers.

Brian Knight, Director of Secondary Education, emphasizes why early exposure matters. “It’s about trying to grow our kids’ visions for themselves and how they can connect to our community,” he says. “The better we can connect our students with the community and the community with our students, the stronger our neighborhoods, partnerships, and the Southside of Indianapolis become.”

Building Mindsets, Not Just Skills

Perry Township’s entrepreneurship initiative is a departure from traditional vocational training. Rather than funneling students into narrow specializations, the program cultivates adaptable thinking and exposes teenagers to multiple industries before they commit to a single path.

“A big part of the Entrepreneurship Pathway is that we are trying to shift students’ mindsets while exposing them to different local community organizations, and therefore they’re exposed to a variety of careers and not just one,” Knight explains. “If I’m going to take a program at Central Nine that is welding, then I’m going to weld. That’s what I’ve signed up for. If I take advantage of the Entrepreneurship Pathway, I may get to interact with multiple different community partners and organizations.”

The distinction matters in an era when workers change careers multiple times throughout their lives. Jeff Spencer, Assistant Superintendent for Foundational Learning, points to the program’s practical advantages. “Through this program, students gain in-depth exposure to a wide range of careers. If they choose to change paths later in life, we believe they’ll be more adaptable and better prepared to pivot.” Spencer says. “That’s the exciting part for me; how do we continue to bring local industry partners into these conversations and learning spaces to work with our kids.”

The entrepreneurship focus also taps into something students can observe in their own neighborhoods. Small business owners become tangible role models, demonstrating the connection between education and economic opportunity. Students learn not just technical skills but the broader competencies that transfer across industries: problem-solving, financial literacy, communication, and resilience when ventures don’t succeed as planned.

Bringing Business into the Classroom

Besides traditional models of guest speakers and field trips, Perry Township Schools is building structured partnerships that give students sustained access to professional environments. Skillman Corporation, the district’s construction management firm, now takes on paid high school interns during summer months. Lancer Associates, the architectural firm working with the district, operates Lancer Academy, bringing groups of students through the full lifecycle of design and construction projects.

“They’ll bring in groups of kids to learn about design, learn about the construction process, learn about everything that goes behind the engineering, the permitting, and really, again, working with our kids so they understand what those opportunities are,” Dr. Spray says. The exposure helps students make informed decisions before investing time and money in training programs that might not match their interests or aptitudes.

The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has joined the initiative, as has the Carpenters Union covering Kentucky and Ohio. Through the union partnership, students who successfully complete the district’s construction pathway curriculum receive direct admission to the apprenticeship program and skip an entire year of training. That advantage translates to earlier earning potential and reduced training costs.

Dr. Spray explains the strategic thinking behind partner selection. “So many times kids will say, I want to be an engineer, but they really don’t know the breadth of that conversation. Or, I’m going to be an electrician, and they get into their work and they realize they don’t really want to do this. So, we help them understand the differences before they get beyond us.”

Economic Drivers, Student Interests, and Specialized Programs

The district faces a complex balancing act: aligning programs with Indiana’s economic development priorities while respecting individual student interests and avoiding the trap of pushing too many teenagers toward temporarily hot job markets.

“We take a look at current opportunities while considering future trends  and ensure that what is happening in the classroom is aligned with the economic direction of the state of Indiana.” ” Dr. Spray says. The district maintains ongoing conversations with Aspire Johnson County, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, and economic development corporations across Indiana to track emerging workforce needs.

Yet Dr. Spray cautions against over-correction. “Right now, there’s a lot of emphasis on career centers, and our kids also have those opportunities to learn about welding and that sort of thing. We’re going to continue to provide those opportunities, but we’re not going to push 50% of our kids toward that particular career field because that may or may not be in demand  20 years down the road.”

The construction pathway exemplifies the district’s broad approach. Rather than training students solely as tradespeople, the program encompasses architecture, engineering, project management, and permitting. Students destined for four-year universities work alongside peers heading directly into the workforce. Knight notes the value in helping students eliminate options. “Sometimes it’s as much about figuring out what you don’t want to do as it is about knowing exactly what you want to do when you’re a 16 or 17-year-old kid.”

Through Central Nine, a cooperative occupational school, students can pursue more specialized training in fields like HVAC and welding when they’ve already identified clear interests.

Building Spaces for Innovation

Perry Township’s vision requires substantial financial backing, and the district has secured funding that positions it as a leader in career-focused education. In December 2025, the district received a $40 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the largest award given during Phase 3 of the Marion County K-12 Public Schools Initiative. This follows an earlier $7.8 million grant from the same foundation in Phase 2.

The $40 million will fund four core priorities: closing the math achievement gap, expanding K-8 career exposure programs, cultivating teacher excellence, and constructing an entrepreneurship and innovation center. A significant portion supports building a new facility on the University of Indianapolis campus, where high school students will access resources typically reserved for college students.

“We’ve received about an $8 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to kick off this entrepreneurship pathway as well as provide district-wide professional development on project-based learning,” Dr. Spray says. “Through phase three, $28 million is dedicated to constructing an entrepreneurship and innovation centre on the University of Indianapolis campus, where our high school students learn alongside university professors and gain access to post-secondary opportunities.”

The district is also building a career and technical education space at one of its high schools as phase three of its construction process. Dr. Spray emphasizes the importance of flexibility in these facilities. “We haven’t identified everything that’s going on in there. We’re still in the discussion phase of its development, but we understand that it needs to be a flexible space, a space that can be modified over time to meet and bring different career opportunities or pathways.”

Community-Connected Education

Perry Township Schools’ transformation rests on institutional alignment of the school board and administrative leadership with classroom teachers and families. Dr. Spray describes this unified direction as essential for sustainable change rather than temporary initiatives that fade when leadership changes.

“We’re very much aligned and committed to K-12 Career-Connected Learning from the school board to the administration to our staff. The messaging to our families is that through our project-based learning initiatives, our kids must explore careers much earlier than they ever have,” Dr. Spray says. “We’ve also got to make sure that we’re preparing kids for those careers in high school so they can be successful beyond graduation.”

Funding remains a practical concern. The district draws on multiple revenue streams, including Perkins grants, state career and technical education funding, and foundation support. “It requires staffing. It requires funding from the state with some of the career and technical funding levels,” Dr. Spray explains. “It starts with that commitment of where we are and how we’re going to fund this experience going forward, and how we carve that out of our budget and make sure it’s impactful for the students.”

Knight sees the University of Indianapolis partnership as particularly valuable for expanding student horizons. “On the  Southside of Indianapolis, people who live here tend to stay here. So the better we can connect our students with the community and the community with our students, it’s going to help us grow a stronger neighborhood, a stronger partnership, and a better place to live. ”

For a district where 68% of students qualify as economically disadvantaged, 70% identify as minorities, and more than 50% multilingual, these connections between education and economic mobility carry weight beyond academic metrics. Perry Township is building infrastructure that treats career readiness not as a separate track for some students but as a foundation for all.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Perry Township Schools

What: Indiana’s eighth-largest district implementing comprehensive career-connected learning

Where: Indianapolis, IN

Website: www.perryschools.org