Grant will help all-girls school expand

INDIANAPOLIS – A quarter-million dollar investment will go to double the size of an all-girls school in the Circle City.

That’s welcome news to Chermar Christie, who had her doubts when she started at Tindley School a year ago.

“I’m not going to make it here… because sometimes I break the rules, but then I get back on track,” she said.

Like most of the students in this charter school system, she faced challenges with achievement and maturity. Now, her teachers point to her as one of the success stories. She said going to school at Tindley has had an impact.

“When I started at Tindley, I’ll put it out there, I was immature, but my teachers helped me mature as a young lady,” Christie said.

The leaders of the Tindley Charter Network said she’s not alone. They believe the all-girls school represents an educational model that works where other schools have failed. With a waiting list of hundreds of children, their biggest problem may be keeping up with demand.

“By the time our kids finish middle school, they’re not just some of the most successful in the city, they are the most successful in the state,” said Marcus Robinson, chancellor and CEO of the Tindley Charter Network

Tindley will be able to expand its program thanks to The Mind Trust, the city’s nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education. The group awarded the school $250,000 to double the size of its all-girls middle school, creating Tindley Collegiate.

“By launching Tindley Collegiate, we’ll be able to serve twice as many girls as we’ve been able to,” Robinson said.

“We really want to invest in the best and certainly Tindley has been a phenomenal asset to the community here in Indianapolis but really it is a national model,” said David Harris, founder and CEO of The Mind Trust.

Chermar Christie will attend eighth grade at the new school. She wants to become a police officer-a dream the school can help make come true.

“Tell you the truth, I would have been expelled by now. But they helped me mature and correct me along the way,” she said.