Press Releases | April 13, 2021

The Mind Trust selects 27 Indianapolis school leaders for national principal fellowship

INDIANAPOLIS—(April 13, 2021)—The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit, has announced its fifth cohort of Indianapolis school leaders the organization will sponsor to attend Relay Graduate School of Education’s school leadership programs. Relay is a nationally-recognized, nonprofit graduate school of education that provides next-level training and leadership development to school leaders across the country.

With support from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, The Mind Trust is sponsoring 27 school leaders who will attend Relay’s National Principals Academy Fellowship (NPAF).

Relay Graduate School of Education leadership programs have become highly valued and sought after by Indianapolis school leaders. Past participants have noted transformational improvements in their schools’ teacher observation and feedback cycles, curriculum quality, and student data analysis. The 27 leaders of the fifth cohort will join the 101 Indianapolis school leaders who have previously participated in Relay fellowships since 2017.

“The Mind Trust is proud to support Indianapolis leaders to participate in Relay’s high-impact fellowship experience with school leaders across the country,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “We are thankful for the support the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation has provided to make this opportunity possible for 128 local educators since 2017.”

Relay’s NPAF is an intensive, one-year program focused on transformational school leadership that focuses on Relay’s key instructional pillars: observation and feedback, data-driven instruction, positive student culture of high expectations, adult professional development, instructional planning, an aligned staff culture, and strategic leadership.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Relay has made adjustments to programming that will help ensure the safety of participants and presenters. All programming for the 2021 calendar year will take place in a virtual setting, however, Relay anticipates some in-person sessions being available in the spring of 2022 to finish out the fellowship.

The fellows in this year’s cohort represent 17 public schools in Indianapolis, including independent public charter schools and Indianapolis Public Schools’ Innovation Network Schools. The 27 leaders are:

2021 National Principals Academy Fellows

Daniel Coogan, ACT Coordinator, Adelante Schools

Kendra Randle, Elementary School Dean, Adelante Schools

Samantha Burton, Instructional Coach, Circle City Prep

Rebah Ginn, Manager of eLearning, Circle City Prep

Jawn Manning, Dean of Student Services, Believe Circle City High School

Lauren Bangs, Special Education Specialist, Dynamic Minds Academy

LaMeca Perkins-Knight, Director of Special Education, Dynamic Minds Academy

Emilie Strange, Instructional Coach, Dynamic Minds Academy

Fallon Cuthrell, Assistant Principal, Edison School of the Arts

Leah Kuruzar, School Leader, Enlace Academy

Elizabeth Schumacher, Academic Dean, Enlace Academy

Calasia Carrion, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Ignite Achievement Academy

Sabre Adams Poff, 6th Grade Team Chair, KIPP Indy College Prep

Nancy Kemps, Special Education Director, KIPP Legacy High School

Brittney Almond, Director of Grades 3-5 Instruction, KIPP Indy Unite

Sean Moore, 7th Grade Science Teacher, Matchbook Learning at School 63

Felicia Sears, Principal, Monarca Academy

Francisco Valdiosera, Executive Director, Monarca Academy

Darrnell Houston, Dean of Culture, Equity, and Inclusion, pilotED

Jacob Peters, Assistant Principal, pilotED

Bruce Wooldridge, Student Support Services Coordinator, Rooted School Indianapolis

Christopher Anderson, Academic Counselor, The PATH School

Morgan Mason, Instructional Coach, The PATH School

Gregory Smith, Assistant Principal, The PATH School

Ingrid Baker-Erhahon, Principal, STEMNASIUM Science, Math, Engineering Middle School

Jenna Elkin, Instructional Coach, Vision Academy-Riverside

Aunye Hockett, Assistant Principal, Vision Academy-Riverside

About The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust is an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit organization that works to build a system of schools that gives every student in Indianapolis, no exceptions, access to a high-quality education. The Mind Trust does this by building a supportive environment for schools through policy and community engagement, empowering talented educators to launch new schools, and providing existing schools with the support they need to hire world-class talent and achieve excellence. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 38 schools and helped place more than 1,600 teachers and school leaders in Indianapolis classrooms. More information can be found at themindtrust.org.

About Relay Graduate School of Education

The Relay Graduate School of Education is a national, accredited, nonprofit institution of higher education whose mission is to teach teachers and school leaders to develop in all students the academic skills and strength of character needed to succeed in college and life. Now serving over 3,500 teachers in 18 cities and more than 1,200 leaders nationwide, Relay is eager to bring about transformational change in educator preparation. Relay is committed to using practice and feedback to become the place where a new generation of continuously improving, results-focused individuals can fulfill their destiny in the world’s greatest profession. For more information, please visit the Relay website or follow Relay on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@RelayGSE).

About The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust is an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit that works to build a system of schools that gives every student, no exceptions, access to a high-quality education. The Mind Trust does this by building a supportive environment for schools through policy and community engagement, empowering talented, diverse educators to launch new schools, and providing existing schools with the support they need to hire world-class talent and achieve excellence. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 49 schools, 15 education nonprofit organizations, and has helped place more than 1,800 teachers and school leaders in Indianapolis classrooms.