The Mind Trust forms partnership with national education school to develop & empower Indy school leaders
Indianapolis – The Mind Trust has entered into a partnership with the Relay Graduate School of Education, a nationally recognized, nonprofit graduate school of education, to sponsor an instructional leadership program for Indianapolis principals that will help them excel as educators and school leaders.
Through the partnership, The Mind Trust will sponsor and fund Indianapolis school leaders to enroll in Relay’s National Principals Academy Fellowship (NPAF) and National Principal Supervisors Academy (NPSA). The Mind Trust’s lead funder on this project is the Indianapolis-based Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.
“Having a dedicated, talented school leader is one of the most important ingredients for school and student success,” said David Harris, founder & CEO of The Mind Trust. “That’s why one of The Mind Trust’s primary goals is to recruit talented educators and put them in positions to excel. This partnership will help already successful school leaders in Indianapolis take their craft to the next level and provide even better leadership for their teachers and students.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome a cohort of Indianapolis principals and principal supervisors to our leadership program, which is now serving close to 400 leaders from 24 states and D.C.” said Relay Dean Jesse Rector. “At Relay, we believe school leaders play a critical role in ensuring that all kids have access to a high-quality education, and we’re eager to extend our reach in the coming year.”
The NPAF/NPSA program is an intensive, one-year program focused on instructional school leadership. All participants will attend one 12-day summer session and four additional weekend “intersessions,” during which they focus on Relay’s key instructional pillars: observation and feedback, data-driven instruction, positive student culture of high expectations, adult professional development, instructional planning, an aligned staff culture and strategic leadership.
The Mind Trust will sponsor and fund up to 12 participants per year for three years, beginning in Summer 2017, with a focus on leaders within school systems or charter networks that will launch the greatest number of new schools and impact the most students.
Application & selection. To apply for the program, participants must hold full-time leadership positions with a school or school system – such as principal, assistant principal, department head or lead teacher – that enable them to meet fieldwork requirements.
The Mind Trust is seeking applicants who have the motivation and work ethic to continue refining their craft as a leader, are open to learning new leadership strategies and to immediate feedback and have a strong sense of personal responsibility and belief as it pertains to student learning. The Mind Trust also encourages cohorts of leaders from the same school or network to apply to amplify the experience for participants and increase the impact on their students.
Application materials may be found online at themindtrust.org or by contacting Joe White at jwhite@themindtrust.org. The final application deadline is January 31, 2017, and final participants will be announced by the end of March.
-30-