Lilly Endowment gives $7M for new charter schools, teachers

The Lilly Endowment has given more than $7 million to The Mind Trust to help the nonprofit's efforts to launch more charter schools and recruit more educators in Indianapolis.

The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit focused on education reform, announced the acceptance of the two grants Tuesday in a news release.

About half of the funding — $3.75 million — will be used to support Innovation Network Schools, a partnership between the nonprofit and Indianapolis Public Schools to launch independent schools within IPS boundaries. The public schools, many of which are charter schools, remain part of IPS but are run independently.

"Providing educators the flexibility to utilize their talents in the ways they know will best meet their students' academic needs is paramount," stated Lewis Ferebee, IPS superintendent, in the news release. "Innovation Network Schools are an integral tool in helping us transform IPS into a high-performing school district.”

One example is Kindezi Academy, launched in August to reshape School 69 at 34th Street and Keystone Avenue. School 69 was transformed into a charter school after five years as an F-rated school. The operations were handed over to a charter operator.

Shanae Staples, the new school's leader, hired her own staff. She also controls decisions made by her own oversight board. The school's model changed too: now, two teachers are in every classroom, according to the school's website, where students work in small groups and receive personalized learning.

The Mind Trust is set to select new leaders to launch new schools next fall.

The other half of the funding — $3.42 million — will support Mind Trust efforts to recruit teachers and school leaders through the nonprofit's partnership with Teach for America and TNTP. The two organizations have led more than 900 educators to Indianapolis schools over the past 10 years, according to the news release.

The Lilly Endowment is a private foundation in Indianapolis that supports community development, education and religion with millions of dollars in grants each year.

IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang contributed to this article.

Call IndyStar reporter Ryan Martin at (317) 444-6294. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @ryanmartin