The Mind Trust awards total of $150,000 to eight Talent Innovation Fund recipients

INDIANAPOLIS – (May 27, 2021) – The Mind Trust today announced eight recipients of 2021-2022 Talent Innovation Fund awards, investing $150,000 into projects that will implement locally-driven, creative approaches to help solve an education talent challenge in Indianapolis.

The 2021-2022 Talent Innovation Fund award recipients are Adelante Schools, BELIEVE Circle City High School, the Educate ME Foundation, KIPP Indy, Paramount Schools of Excellence, Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, and Tindley Summit Academy. The Peace Learning Center has been awarded a planning grant for their project.

“The Mind Trust is thrilled to support eight projects from local public schools and nonprofit organizations that aim to strengthen the skills and diversity of Indianapolis educators,” said Sara Marshall, Senior Director of Talent at The Mind Trust. “We believe the Talent Innovation Fund can help raise student achievement by investing in the recruitment, development, and retention of their school’s teachers and leaders.”

Adelante Schools has been awarded $25,000 to implement a school-wide strategy to train every teacher on best practices in serving students who are English Language Learners. The goal of the program is to have at least 65% of English Learners at Adelante Schools increase by one whole-point proficiency on the WIDA assessment, which measures English language proficiency.

BELIEVE Circle City High School has been awarded $25,000 to create a teacher and leader residency program to grow the number of high-quality staff and teachers at their school, with a focus on leaders of color. Residents will be paired with a mentor, provided intensive coaching and professional development, and steadily grow areas of responsibility with the goal of leading their own classroom or department.

The Educate ME Foundation, Inc. has been awarded $25,000 to support the recruitment, certification, and hiring of ten K-12 teachers of color for placement within traditional public or public charter schools in Indianapolis by June 2022.

KIPP Indy has been awarded $10,000 to support the sixth cohort of its Emerging Leaders program, which provides a stipend, mentoring, opportunities for high-quality professional development, and support for each leader to complete a school- or region-wide project aligned to their interest and to organizational priorities.

Paramount Schools of Excellence has been awarded $10,000 to support the network’s new Career Pathways program, which has four unique cohorts designed to strengthen participants’ leadership abilities, instructional pedagogy, and create significant opportunities for career advancement. The program aims to impact more than 120 staff members in its first year.

Purdue Polytechnic High Schools (PPHS) has been awarded $25,000 to support the creation of a teacher leadership development program to strategically increase the quality and diversity of talent of PPHS’s existing talent pool and develop succession plans for leadership.

Tindley Summit Academy has been awarded $25,000 to continue implementation of its teacher leadership program, the Summit Ambassador Fellows. Selected fellows receive executive coaching and a professional development opportunity identified as an area of interest during the first year of the program.

Peace Learning Center has been awarded a $5,000 planning grant to explore partnership opportunities with Indianapolis public charter schools and Innovation Network Schools for the The Peace Learning Collective. The Collective is an experience that engages a diverse group of educators in a multi-day learning opportunity around the subjects of equity, social emotional learning, and restorative practices.

“Thousands of students will benefit from projects supported by the Talent Innovation Fund,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “The Mind Trust is proud to continue to invest in local schools and educators to enhance the quality of public schools in Indianapolis.”