A New Chapter for Metro Schools

In 2006, Battelle partnered with The Ohio State University to make an education vision become a reality. In an office building owned by Ohio State, classes based on a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum began for students from different school districts around Central Ohio. Together, these organizations created Metro Early College Middle School and High School.

Now, the next phase of that vision is literally and figuratively breaking ground—Metro formally announced that construction has begun on the school’s new campus. Projections indicate that Metro @ Indianola will open as a new campus for Metro students and families at the beginning of 2025.

Check out this video to learn about our progress.

Originally opened in September 1929 and designed by Howard Dwight Smith (the same man who designed Ohio State’s iconic Ohio Stadium, also known as The Horseshoe), Indianola Junior High School was the home of the public school located east of Ohio State’s campus until it closed in 2010. With its marvelous architecture and general condition fading and deteriorating from sitting fallow, the Ohio State-owned building needed lots of help. Thanks to a partnership between Metro, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, Ohio State, other local supporters, and Battelle, the site is being transformed over the next year into a modern STEM learning environment that honors its past.

This expansion means Metro will be able to serve 1,200 students, 350 more than currently enrolled, increasing the school’s footprint by more than 40%. The nine-acre campus also will provide significant outdoor green space which will provide many opportunities and benefits currently unavailable at the Kenny Road location.

A 3D rendering of the collaboration room on the new Metro campus

The move provides an opportunity for the vision to expand further. Since its inception, leaders at Battelle and Metro have known that the most robust STEM education begins in elementary school. As Metro’s middle and high school students move to the new building, Metro’s current location will reopen as Metro’s first elementary school. Together, these two expansions will ensure access to a life-changing education for many more Central Ohio students.

Since it opened in 2006, Metro has maintained a 99-100% graduation rate and 100% college acceptance rate. The school is non-selective and free, requiring no test scores for entry and charging no tuition, relying on a lottery system for entry.

Over the past three years, Battelle made investing in Metro’s expansion one of the company’s top philanthropic priorities. In total, Battelle has contributed $13.5 million directly to the Metro @ Indianola project. Another $7.5 million has been committed from other Central Ohio organizations and will be matched by $17 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

Battelle invests in Metro as a part of the company’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators through quality STEM education. Metro has established a nationally-recognized level of educational excellence. Despite no academic pre-requisites, 95% of Metro’s latest graduating class earned college credits. More than half of the Class of 2023 earned Honors diplomas. On average, each graduate earned 30 college credit hours, tuition-free.

Education changes lives. Now, thanks to Battelle and our partners, even more students will access a Metro education. At the revitalized Indianola campus, they will learn to thrive academically, defy expectations, and become compassionate leaders.

This new chapter is just the beginning. To become part of Metro’s expansion, visit the school’s page at https://www.themetroschool.org/page/indianola-groundbreaking.