Schools and Students
The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 45 schools since 2006 that collectively serve more than 12,000 students. These schools are providing innovative, high-quality options to families across Center Township.
In addition, a variety of programs for schools, educators, and community organizations offer targeted, high-quality resources to advance educational outcomes and ensure all students receive an excellent education that prepares them for the future they want.
High-dosage tutoring
High-dosage tutoring is a proven, effective strategy for increasing student outcomes. The Mind Trust launched a high-dosage tutoring pilot for the 2021–22 school year targeting students in grades 3–8.
Numerous students across three autonomous schools received regular in-person or virtual tutoring.
The Mind Trust produced a best-practices report on the back of this successful pilot. The report provides a roadmap for Indianapolis schools to implement high-dosage tutoring as a means of improving student proficiency.
For the 2022–23 school year, The Mind Trust expanded high-dosage tutoring to also target high school juniors, who are receiving SAT targeted support.
School Fellowships
The Mind Trust supports the launch of high-quality public schools in Indianapolis through our School Fellowships that provide talented school leaders the time, expertise, and support necessary to launch and lead exceptional schools. Fellows receive personalized coaching, resources, and training throughout the program, as well as ongoing support once schools are launched.
Since 2013, The Mind Trust’s Fellows have launched 27 charter and innovation schools in Indianapolis.
Capacity Building Awards
Launching new schools takes time, investment, and resources. One way The Mind Trust supports the expansion of quality public school options is through Capacity Building Awards.
These one-time awards are made to proven school operators to help them expand their school or network to serve more families. We distributed four Capacity Building Awards in 2022 totaling $2,400,000 that will support the following schools and networks in adding an additional campus:
- BELIEVE | Circle City High School
- Herron Classical Schools
- Purdue Polytechnic High Schools
- Paramount Schools of Excellence
Schools launched in 2022–23
Circle City Prep Middle School
Mayor-sponsored charter school serving grade six
Circle City Prep Middle School focuses on three core areas: rigorous academics; critical and analytical thinking; and character skills to build the resilience, optimism, and work ethic necessary for long-term success.
Liberty Grove Schools | Founded by Morrise Harbour, Innovation School Fellow
IPS Innovation Network School serving grades K-6
Liberty Grove Schools strives for academic excellence that sparks innovation and creates opportunities. They empower students of diverse backgrounds and remove labels through community building.
Monarca Academy | Founded by Francisco Valdiosera, Innovation School Fellow
IPS Innovation Network School serving grade six
Monarca Academy eliminates barriers to success for all students. Inspired by the Latino and immigrant experience, they develop leaders through high academic standards, cultural responsiveness, and community building.
Rooted School Indianapolis Middle School
Mayor-sponsored charter school serving grade seven
Rooted School Indianapolis exists to provide students personal pathways to financial freedom. They develop students’ skills in preparation for the most in-demand job sectors.
Schools launching in 2023-24
Schools launching in fall 2023
Edison School of the Arts 2 Founded by James Hill, Innovation School Fellow
James Hill leads a School Fellow team representing Edison School of the Arts, which is working to replicate the successful, arts-driven model at Edison School of the Arts.
Engaged Community Schools | Founded by Brandon House, Innovation School Fellow
Brandon House is developing a K-8 school model that aims to develop students through rigorous academic programming supported by deep community partnerships and social-emotional development.
Schools launching in fall 2024
BELIEVE Circle City High School 2 | Founded by Kimberly Neal, Charter School Fellow alumna
BELIEVE Circle City High School will open a second high school campus with capacity to serve up to 400 students.
Herron Preparatory Academy 2 | Founded by Janet McNeal, Charter School Fellow alumna
Herron Classical Schools, a high-performing network of three Indianapolis schools, is developing a second elementary school campus.
Matchbook College, Career, and Technical Institute | Founded by Aaron Etherington, School Fellow
Matchbook College, Career, and Technical Institute will equip students on the westside of Indianapolis with the skills, knowledge, training, and certifications to enter college or a living-wage career immediately after high school.
Paramount Schools of Excellence All-Girls STEM School | Founded by Tommy Reddicks, Charter School Fellow alumnus
Paramount Schools of Excellence, a successful network of four Indianapolis schools, is developing an all-girls STEM school that will serve up to 500 students.
Educator programs
The Greenhouse Executive Educational Experience (E3) Fellowship aids high-performing school leaders in developing the key skills and competencies needed to lead strong teams as CEOs and executive-level leaders of schools in our city.
Greenhouse E3 fellows learn how to drive results across several schools and successfully manage the complexity of multi-school organizations. During this two-year fellowship, fellows attend ten, multi-day, intensive sessions with their cohort.
The Mind Trust is supporting a number of local leaders through Greenhouse E3 for the upcoming school year, including providing executive leadership coaching to leaders currently acting as CEOs.
The Mind Trust partnered with Relay Graduate School of Education to offer two educator workshops in fall 2022.
One workshop series, Accelerating Student Learning, supported 18 educators in creating inclusive and supportive learning environments through culturally-responsive practices, rigor, and intentional student work analysis.. The second workshop series, Data Deep Dive, helped 16 educators explore how to collect, organize, and respond to student data in real-time and through comprehensive analysis.
Participant testimonials:
- “The self-reflection questions for addressing curriculum bias were really helpful.”
- “One strength of today’s session was the opportunities to put into practice the key ideas we discussed today through practical case studies.”
The Mind Trust supports Teach For America (TFA) and TNTP’s Indianapolis Teaching Fellows (ITF) as leading pipelines to ensure Center Township classrooms are staffed by diverse, high-quality educators.
For the 2022-23 school year, TFA and ITF placed a combined 62 first-year teachers with 63% of them identifying as people of color.
These programs represent a consistently and highly diverse pipeline for new teachers. Only 27% of IPS teachers identify as people of color and just 7% of teachers statewide identify as people of color despite significant research indicating that all students benefit from experiencing diverse classroom teachers.
Marian University’s Fred S. Klipsch Educators College and The Mind Trust formed a partnership in 2022 to significantly reduce the cost of teacher and school leader licensure programs.
The partnership will cover two-thirds of the cost of two leadership licensure programs and five teacher licensure programs as a means of increasing the number of licensed teachers and school leaders.
The Mind Trust’s Talent Innovation Fund enhanced local talent efforts by providing Indianapolis schools and nonprofits the opportunity to develop initiatives focused on attracting and retaining high-quality educators.
The Talent Innovation Fund sought to increase the number of high-quality instructional staff in Indianapolis classrooms, increase the quality of current instructional staff in Indianapolis classrooms, retain a higher percentage of high-quality instructional staff in Indianapolis classrooms, and increase diversity of instructional staff to better reflect student demographics.
2022 Recipients
- Christel House Indianapolis
- Enlace Academy
- Paramount Schools of Excellence
- Purdue Polytechnic High Schools
- Shepherd Community Center
