Charter school grants attract national talent to Indianapolis

As Indianapolis’ reputation as an urban education reform darling grows, so too does the interest in a grant program to help educators launch new — and often experimental — charter schools here.

The number of applicants from outside Indianapolis vying for the Innovation School Fellowship, a one- or two-year grant program valued at roughly $200,000 a year, and a paved path to a charter from the mayor’s office, has increased each year.

The Mind Trust, the Indianapolis-based nonprofit that sponsors the fellowship and a key player in the city’s rise to national prominence in school reform work, announced on Thursday its fifth cohort of fellows who will plan and launch new schools into the crowded Indianapolis charter landscape…