The Mind Trust, Education Cities, and the Progressive Policy Institute would like to personally invite you to “Reinventing America’s Schools: An Educational Revolution in Indianapolis”, an event we will be hosting in Indianapolis on May 3 and 4.
Over the past decade, Indianapolis has undergone an educational revolution. Educators, civic leaders, philanthropists, and community groups have come together to innovate at a speed and scale rarely – if ever – tried in American history. Over the next two days, meeting participants will learn about the three waves of Indianapolis’s reform story, and the most important initiatives and organizations contributing to this educational renaissance. We’ll hear from current and past political leaders; explore the Mayor’s Charter School Initiative, learn how The Mind Trust has harnessed civic power and entrepreneurship to drive change, explore IPS’s Innovation Network Schools; and discuss the politics of Indy-style reform. Our goal is that you leave energized by what is possible, and interested in exploring how these reforms might resonate in your own communities.
If you have any questions about the schedule, please contact jplat@ppionline.org. For those guests staying at the hotel, check-in opens at 4 pm and check-out is at noon. The front desk can be reached at (317) 635-2000.
Business casual attire.
The Indianapolis Story
During this opening plenary, David Harris and David Osborne will help tell the three-wave story of Indianapolis’s education reform decade. They will provide an overview of the key subjects to be discussed in greater detail over the next day and a half, note the major design elements of Indianapolis’ march from traditional education system to a 21st century innovative system of schools.
Reform Wave 1: Charter Schools and Quality Authorizing – The Mayor’s Charter Initiative
How did Indianapolis create the conditions for strong charter schools to emerge? What role does strong authorizing play in the effort to transform a city’s portfolio of public school options? And what role can a mayor’s office play in supporting quality school authorizing?
Reform Wave 2: The Mind Trust and Community Leadership
During this session, leaders of The Mind Trust will talk about how their organization, serving in a non-profit, venture philanthropy “education quarterback” model, has created a vibrant reform ecosystem in Indianapolis while building strong community partnerships along the way.
Reform Wave 3: Innovation Network Schools: Vision and Origin Story
If Indy reform waves 1 and 2 focused on strong authorizing and an education quarterback investing in a quality school ecosystem, wave three has become manifest in the creation of Innovation Network Schools – in-district autonomous, accountable schools where educators have more freedom and responsibility. Learn about how the Innovation Network School pathway was created, and how IPS is transforming to help schools and educators innovate
City Delegation Facilitated Debrief
During this final session of day 1, each city delegation will meet with an assigned facilitator from Education Cities or PPI to debrief their reflections on the many new ideas presented over the first several sessions. Delegations will end the conversation with a discussion of what new ideas that might have relevance in their cities they might like to explore in greater detail on day 2 during delegation workshop time.
The Mind Trust aims to provide every student in Indianapolis with access to a high-quality, world-class education. Founded in 2006, the Mind Trust has been striving to do that by recruiting and developing talented, innovative educators, launching high quality schools with the conditions for success and engaging neighborhoods and communities to help lead education innovation.
Education Cities is a nonprofit network of 31 city-based organizations in 24 cities working to dramatically increase the number of great public schools across the country. Their members are nonprofit organizations that create and coordinate ecosystems that foster the growth of high-quality public schools in their respective cities.
The Progressive Policy Institute is an independent, innovative, and high-impact DC-based think tank founded in 1989. As the original “idea mill” for President Bill Clinton’s New Democrats, PPI has a long legacy of promoting break-the-mold ideas aimed at economic growth, national security, and modern, performance-based government. Today, PPI’s unique mix of political realism and policy innovation continues to make it a leading source of pragmatic and creative ideas.