Eddie Rangel & Matthew Rooney

Eddie Rangel and Matthew Rooney are the co-leaders of Adelante Schools, which was approved by the Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Commissioners to be the Innovation Network School operating partner for Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School.  Their school model is informed by best practices of high-performing district, district-turnaround, and public charter schools across the country.

Adelante Schools is not affiliated with similarly named schools in other states.

Adelante School Mission Statement: We unite in solidarity with our families and community to create a joyous neighborhood school, preparing all scholars to graduate from college and lead lives of leadership and service to Indianapolis. Learn more at adelanteschools.org.

Eddie Rangel is the Executive Director and Head of Elementary for Adelante Schools. He has spent his career serving students in Indianapolis. He most recently served as a principal for Tindley Genesis Academy, where his students achieved a 19-point gain in Math and 14-point gain in English/Language Arts ISTEP passing rates, the highest growth of all Marion County public charter schools. 100% of Grade 3 Tindley Genesis students passed IREAD-3 in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 school years.

Before becoming a school administrator, Rangel taught in IPS and Redlands Unified School District. He is a graduate of the Relay National Principal Academy, a 2014 Teach Plus Policy Fellow, and an alumnus of Teach For America. He served on Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Education Transition Team and the statewide Panel to Study Alternatives to the ISTEP Program Test. He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Marian University and a Master of Education in Public School Building Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Rangel is a currently participating in the prestigious Leverage Leadership Institute at Relay Graduate School of Education.

Matthew Rooney is the Head of Middle School for Adelante Schools. He is a native of Indianapolis and most recently served as Principal of Democracy Prep Harlem High School in New York City. Under his leadership, 100 percent of his students earned acceptances to at least two four-year colleges, as well as New York Advanced Regents Diplomas. In 2019, Democracy Prep Harlem was ranked as the 3rd Best Public Charter High School in New York City by U.S. News & World Report.

Before serving in school leadership at Democracy Prep, Rooney taught at KIPP Indy College Prep Middle in Indianapolis and as a Fulbright English Teacher in the Republic of Korea. Rooney earned an undergraduate degree in Music Education from Ball State University and is currently participating in the Relay National Principals Academy.

Rangel and Rooney will spend the 2019-2020 school year training with current and former school leaders known for their expertise in research-based curricula, data-driven instruction, and robust systems for developing and supporting teachers and leaders.

In the news:

IPS struggles to bridge the gap with language learners and their families, by Hayleigh Colombo in Chalkbeat Indiana

Column: A 6-year-old’s lesson for her teacher, an op-ed by Eddie Rangel in The Indianapolis Star