The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust is a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis whose mission is to “dramatically improve public education for underserved students by empowering education entrepreneurs to develop or expand transformative education initiatives.”¹

History

The Mind Trust was founded in 2006 by Bart Peterson, the former Mayor of Indianapolis, and David Harris, Mayor Peterson’s former charter schools director. Bart Peterson is now chair of The Mind Trust’s Board of Directors² and David Harris is the President and CEO.³ The Mind Trust is an outgrowth of the Mayor Peterson’s charter schools initiative. In 2001, the Mayor of Indianapolis became the nation’s only mayor with the authority to charter schools.⁴ In July 2006, the initiative won Harvard University’s Innovations in American Government Award.⁵

The summer 2007 issue of Education Next, a publication of the Hoover Institution described The Mind Trust’s formation in an article by David Skinner:

“In January, David Harris left the mayor’s office to work on another side of the charter school problem: ‘stimulating supply,’ as he puts it. If Indianapolis is going to continue being a leader in school innovation, it must, Harris reasons, become the place to develop new ideas. So he has built a nonprofit—IPS superintendent White, among others, sits on the board—to fund highly paid fellowships for education entrepreneurs. It is called [The] Mind Trust, and along with trying to find the next Michael Feinberg (a co-founder of KIPP or the next Wendy Kopp (founder of Teach For America, Harris will be trying to draw the cream of education reform organizations to establish a presence in Indianapolis.”⁶

Programs

To achieve its mission, The Mind Trust has two strategies: (1) the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship that serves as an incubator for transformative education ventures; and (2) a Venture Fund to recruit to Indianapolis the nation’s most successful entrepreneurial education initiatives.⁷

The Education Entrepreneur Fellowship offers promising education entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop and launch their break-the-mold education ventures. Fellows receive two years of support ($90,000 per year in salary, full benefits, a $20,000 stipend, etc.)⁸ The Mind Trust selected Dr. Michael Bitz as the first Education Entrepreneur Fellow in April, 2008.⁹ John Ketzenberger, the business columnist for the Indianapolis Star, wrote about the Fellowship in a column on May 20, 2008:

“Indianapolis is on the vanguard of the education reform movement. Really. A big reason is The Mind Trust, a local nonprofit, and its Education Entrepreneur Fellowship.”¹⁰

The Mind Trust has used the Venture Fund to bring Teach For America,¹¹ The New Teacher Project,¹² and College Summit¹³ to Indianapolis.

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¹The Mind Trust (2008). http://www.themindtrust.org/aboutUs.aspx

²The Mind Trust (2008), http://www.themindtrust.org/boardDirectors.aspx

³The Mind Trust (2008), http://www.themindtrust.org/staff.aspx

⁴City of Indianapolis (2008), http://www.indygov.org/eGov/Mayor/Education/Charter/home.htm

⁵Harvard University (2008), http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/awards.html?id=48911

⁶Education Next (2007), http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/7558537.html

⁷The Mind Trust (2008), http://www.themindtrust.org/aboutUs.aspx

⁸The Mind Trust (2008), http://www.themindtrust.org/edfellowship.aspx

⁹USA Today (2008), http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-30-teacher-music_N.htm

¹⁰Indianapolis Star (2008), http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/BUSINESS07/805200340/1104/BUSINESS07

¹¹Teach For America (2007), http://www.teachforamerica.org/newsroom/documents/indianapolis2008.htm

¹²The New Teacher Project (2008), http://www.indianapolisteachingfellows.org/

¹³College Summit (2008), http://www.collegesummit.org/local/