ABOUT INDIAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Indian Community School (ICS) is a private, faith-based school serving approximately 359 intertribal American Indian students from birth to 3 (early childhood development), and 4-year-old kindergarten through 8th grade. The school is led by its Mission to “cultivate an enduring cultural identity and critical thinking by weaving indigenous teachings with a distinguished learning environment.”
Having served the Indian community of metro Milwaukee for 55 years, ICS offers students an education based on traditional Indian spiritual and cultural principles. ICS students are members of American Indian tribes or of American Indian descent, and collectively, they represent over 40 tribal Nations. The school teaches four Indigenous languages as a second language, including Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe and Oneida. The school offers a Family Resource Center (FRC) that connects families to ICS, beginning with early childhood development. ICS employs over 100 full-time employees, and more than half are instructional staff serving students. The School Administrator is Jason Dropik, who is a tribal member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. For more information, please visit the school’s website at www.ics-edu.org or call (414) 525-6100. Indian Community School is located at 10405 W. St. Martins Road, Franklin, WI, 53132.
Founded: 1969
Campus acreage: A wooded, prairie, and wetland environment surrounds the school, which is located on 178+ acres in Franklin, Wisconsin.
School Colors: Woodland florals, including blue, purple, pink, and green, plus the Medicine Wheel colors, including red, black, white, and yellow.
Our Students
• Our students represent over 40 Tribal Nations.
• Age breakdown of our students: 0-3, and K4 through Grade 8 (ages 4-15).
• Our students reside in the following counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Ozaukee.
School Leadership
School Administrator: Jason P. Dropik (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa)
Chief Financial Officer: Brian Leibl
Director of Human Resources: Jordan Marvin (Sokaogon Chippewa Community - Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa)
Director of Communications and Marketing: Siobhan Marks (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa)
Director of Our Ways: Mark Powless, PhD (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Director of Instruction: Melissa Deutsch, PhD
Our Faculty
Full-time faculty members: 58
Classroom Teachers: 20
Academics
Our Ways Teaching & Learning Framework™ (Culturally Responsive Curriculum)
Common Core State Standards & Culturally Integrated Curriculum
Native Language and Culture classes offered: Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, Oneida (Languages and Cultures)
Art/Music/ Physical Education
• All students in grades K4 through 8th grade have art, music and physical education classes.
• Musical productions are held each year.
• Monthly Culture Celebrations take place for students and staff.
• Activities/facilities include Our Ways Room, Library/Makerspace, Art Room/ceramics kiln; Music Classroom, Gymnasium, Spiritual Center, Place of Nations/plant conservatory representing four cardinal directions, copper Mississippi River and mesas of the Great Plains, 400-seat room called “Drum”/theater in the round, "Earth to Sky" staircase, five balconies, Medicine Garden, School Garden, Teaching Lodge, Wetlands, four Ponds with boardwalks and observation deck, pathways through Plant Medicines, Outdoor Classroom, and an Oak Savannah which connects to Lacrosse Fields and Volleyball Courts.
Athletics
Mascot/Nickname: Eagles
Athletic programs: Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, Running, Soccer, Fitness, Volleyball
After-School and Elective Programs
After-School Study Help Program
Eagle Singers
Theater Club
Moccasin Making
Ribbon Skirts/Shirts Making
Fitness and Running
Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, Running, Soccer, Fitness, Volleyball
Forensics
ICS Exclusive News Team and Yearbook Club
Open Gym
Outfit Making Class
Student Council
Forensics
Family Resource Center
FAST (Families And School Together) Program
Families in Need Program
Grandparents Group
Family Engagement Council
Parents as Teachers
Play and Learn
Playgroups
Parent Cafés
Positive Indian Parenting
Finances
Indian Community School (ICS) receives funding for its operating costs through distributions from the ICS Support Organization (SO). The SO is a Wisconsin not-for-profit corporation that has been established to invest and manage investment assets for ICS’s benefit to maximize sustainable spending for ICS’s educational purposes in perpetuity.
I Can Soar Scholarship®
The I Can Soar Scholarship® is available to qualifying ICS students and alumni who wish to attend private high schools.
Alumni
The ICS Alumni Group connects graduates of ICS to one another, to the community and our school.
Accreditation and Partnerships
Accredited by AdvanceED