Press Releases | June 13, 2018

New hires advance The Mind Trust’s school incubation, development efforts

Indianapolis—(June 13th, 2018)—The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit, has hired Patrick Jones as Senior Director of School Incubation and Michael Prihoda as Manager of Development and Communications. Both will support The Mind Trust’s effort to more than double the number of students attending high-quality public schools within the boundaries of Indianapolis Public Schools.

Jones will lead The Mind Trust’s fellowships and pathways for supporting the launch of new high-quality schools in Indianapolis. He will directly support school leaders who have received The Mind Trust’s Innovation School Fellowship, Charter School Fellowship, Educator Empowerment Awards, and Charter School Design Challenge awards. Through these pathways, six schools are on track to open this fall.

Previously, Jones served as Director of Secondary Schools for Tindley Accelerated Schools, where he coached principals and oversaw the development of instructional systems at the Indianapolis-based network of six charter schools. In 2011, Jones led the founding of Tindley Preparatory Academy as its first principal. Under his leadership, the school earned four consecutive A letter grades on the Indiana Department of Education’s school accountability framework. Jones holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Fisk University and an M.A. in Curriculum from California State Dominguez Hills.

Michael Prihoda will support The Mind Trust’s strategic communications and development efforts. Previously, he served KIPP Indy College Prep as an 8th grade literacy teacher and Teach For America corps member. Prihoda also frequently works as a freelance writer and editor, and has authored numerous creative writing publications. He holds a B.A. in Professional Writing from Taylor University and a M.A. in Teaching from Marian University.

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 or incubated 17 schools, attracted and placed more than 1000 teachers and school leaders, and raised more than $73 million to bring innovative ideas into Indianapolis classrooms. More information can be found at www.themindtrust.org.

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