Press Releases | August 24, 2018

The Mind Trust Fellows to launch nonprofit services center for school finance, operations

Indianapolis—(August 24, 2018)— The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit, today announced that David Rosenberg and Brian Anderson have received an Education Entrepreneur Fellowship, which will support their launch of an independent nonprofit center that will offer charter schools and Innovation Network Schools access to high-quality, cost-effective operational, financial, and state reporting services. These service offerings will support the growth of high-quality schools in Indianapolis by reducing the amount of time school leaders spend on administrative duties, allowing them to maximize their focus on instructional leadership.

Rosenberg and Anderson are developing the nonprofit center in response to need communicated by schools across Indianapolis. National research shows that the average principal spends only 13 percent of his or her time on instruction-related activities. Local Indianapolis school leaders frequently express a desire to spend less time on administrative and operational activities and more time leading the school’s educational program.

The center will specifically focus on providing services needed in charter schools and Innovation Network Schools, which often lack the economies of scale of a large charter network or school district. School leaders who choose to utilize the center will be able to customize the level of service to best fit their visions for meeting the unique needs of their school.

“This new nonprofit center empowers talented school leaders to maximize the time they spend on instructional leadership while simultaneously strengthening their schools’ operational and financial capabilities,” said Joe White, The Mind Trust’s Vice President of School Support. “This service center will help amplify the progress our city’s school leaders are making toward ensuring that every Indianapolis student receives a high-quality education.”

“School leaders are the instructional and cultural ambassadors of their schools,” said Dr. Kenith Britt, Senior Vice President and Dean of the Educators College at Marian University. “Ensuring that school leaders have the nonacademic support services they need is essential to improving student learning outcomes.”

The Mind Trust’s Education Entrepreneur Fellowship provides talented entrepreneurs with one or two full years of planning time and resources to design and launch a nonprofit that supports the growth of high-quality schools in Indianapolis. The service center represents the tenth nonprofit whose launch The Mind Trust has supported through the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship.

About the Fellows:

David Rosenberg will lead the nonprofit service center as its Executive Director. He previously served as Operations Officer for Indianapolis Public Schools, where he oversaw government relations, risk management, information technology, and real estate management, in addition to project managing support services across operations divisions. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Enterprise Development for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. In this capacity, he represented the Mayor’s Office and city agencies during the 2013 to 2015 sessions of the State General Assembly, managed the consolidation of the Marion County Justice Complex, oversaw real estate development negotiations, and created efficiencies through economies of scale across multiple departments.

David has participated in the Indiana Leadership Forum, been recognized as a member of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40”, and was a delegation invitee to the Indianapolis Chamber’s Leadership Exchange in 2016. He has also volunteered with local nonprofit organizations, including Real Men Read and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, and served on the Civilian Fire Merit Board for the Indianapolis Fire Department. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Brian Anderson will serve as the nonprofit center’s Finance Director. Brian is a recognized expert in charter school finance. He previously served as Fiscal Oversight Director for Ball State University’s Office of Charter Schools, where he provided financial oversight for 40 charter schools. As Assistant Director of School Services for IFF, he helped charter schools plan, finance, and build school facilities.

He also ran the Colorado Charter School Business Managers Network for the Colorado Department of Education. He has experience as a Legislative Budget Analyst for the Colorado State Legislature and as a school-level business manager. Brian is a graduate of North Park University and has extensive experience serving on numerous charter school boards.

About The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust is a nonprofit striving to give every Indianapolis student access to an excellent, high-quality public school. The Mind Trust does this by recruiting and empowering top talent; launching and supporting new, innovative and high-quality public schools in Indianapolis; and engaging community stakeholders in conversations about innovation in public education. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 24 schools and attracted and placed more than 1000 teachers and school leaders into Indianapolis classrooms. More information can be found at themindtrust.org.

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