The Mind Trust awards $250,000 to grow high-quality middle school
The Mind Trust has awarded $250,000 to help the Tindley Charter Network double the size of its all-girls middle school in Indianapolis.
Tindley, a growing, high-performing network of charter schools, operates an all-boys middle school and a high school in Indianapolis. Since 2004 it has housed an all-girls middle school within the high school.
In August, the network will grow the all-girls middle school into a separate school called Tindley Collegiate. This will enable Tindley to serve up to 400 girls in sixth through eighth grades, up from 200, and will free space in the high school to serve more students.
The Mind Trust made the award to Tindley through its Charter School Incubator, which the organization uses to entice the nation’s best charter networks to launch or expand in Indianapolis. Tindley’s grant is the fifth Charter School Incubator award, and it marks the first $250,000 investment The Mind Trust has made to seed the launch of single schools.
“Tindley’s schools are making a tremendous difference in providing our city’s students – particularly those from challenging circumstances -with world-class educational opportunities,” said David Harris, founder and CEO of The Mind Trust. “We’re excited to support the growth of this middle school and to enable more students to benefit from its life-changing work.”
Tindley focuses on closing the achievement gap between high- and low-income students. To achieve that, the school immerses students in a rigorous college preparatory environment with accelerated classes and strong academic support.
Across its schools, Tindley students achieve among the best results in the city. One hundred percent of students passed the Algebra 1 End-of-Course Assessment in 2012, and the network’s middle schools outperform magnet and suburban district schools on state tests.
“We are humbled and thrilled by the award from The Mind Trust,” said Marcus Robinson, chancellor and CEO of the Tindley Charter Network. “This investment in Tindley Collegiate will benefit hundreds of families at this first all-girls middle school in Indiana. We look forward to the opening of Tindley Collegiate in August with this significant boost from The Mind Trust.”
The launch of Tindley Collegiate is part of an expansive growth plan for Tindley. The network also received $1.6 million from the highly regarded Charter School Growth Fund to propel its expansion. In addition to Collegiate, Tindley will launch four elementary schools by 2015.
###
ABOUT THE MIND TRUST
The Mind Trust is a nonprofit striving to ensure that every student in Indianapolis has the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The Mind Trust is building a network of the nation’s highest-impact education initiatives, helping to launch life-changing schools, and advancing bold plans for transforming the city’s education system. Since its founding in 2006, The Mind Trust has impacted more than 77,400 students through its work.
ABOUT TINDLEY CHARTER NETWORK
Since 2004, Tindley charter schools have provided a top-quality academic experience to its students. Tindley’s schools create a powerful learning environment that intellectually engages, inspires, and spurs academic achievement through a challenging and interactive college-preparatory curriculum. The Tindley Charter Network currently operates two public charter schools in Indianapolis, Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School and Tindley Preparatory Academy, will open Tindley Collegiate this fall, and plans to grow to seven schools by 2015. For more information, visit www.tindleyschool.org.