Opportunity - The Mind Trust's Education Entrepreneur Fellowship

I received this message from Corrie Heneghan (cheneghan@themindtrust.org), who is the Chief Operating Officer for The Mind Trust, asking me to post the notice for this fellowship opportunity to my blog. I'm not sure yet how I showed up on their radar, but I was more than happy to let people who are interested in virtual schooling know about this potential two year fellowship opportunity designed "to develop sustainable solutions to the most daunting public education challenges."

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Dear Michael:

I am the Chief Operating Officer of a new Indianapolis-based nonprofit called The Mind Trust(http://www.themindtrust.org/). Our mission is to support education entrepreneurship in Indianapolis and beyond. To achieve its mission, The Mind Trust has two principal strategies: (1) to recruit to Indianapolis those entrepreneurial education initiatives with proven track records of producing outstanding results for students, and (2) to develop a nationally unique Education Entrepreneur Fellowship that will provide talented people with ideas to transform public education the opportunity to turn those ideas into successful initiatives.

To date, The Mind Trust has successfully recruited to Indianapolis The New Teacher Project and College Summit. The Mind Trust has also committed substantial funds to bring Teach For America to Indianapolis. We will know in this month if those efforts prove successful, but all indications are positive. And The Mind Trust is working to bring a network of highly successful high school models to Indianapolis.

I am writing to you today about The Mind Trust’s Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. The Fellowship will provide promising education entrepreneurs with an unprecedented opportunity to develop sustainable solutions to the most daunting public education challenges. The attached press release provides more information on the Fellowship, as does our website: http://www.themindtrust.org/.

In short, the Fellowship is for people who envision entirely new approaches to the challenges of public education, and possess the relentless drive necessary to exploit opportunities to fulfill their visions. Fellows will receive a full-time, competitive salary, benefits, office space, and customized training and support. Fellows will be based at The Mind Trust’s offices in Indianapolis. The term of the Fellowship is two years, with the first fellows beginning their work in late spring 2008. The Mind Trust is currently accepting applications. While all fellows must include Indianapolis in the areas served by the ventures they launch, they will by no means be limited to that geography. In fact, we hope and fully expect some fellows to start regional or national enterprises.

The selection process for the Fellowship will be highly competitive. We will consider selecting up to four extraordinary people to join the inaugural cohort. Successful candidates will be relentless problem-solvers with a past record of accomplishment, driven by a commitment to children and a belief that all students can achieve at high levels. Reaching this pool of talent will be crucial to our success, and we would like to ask you to help us spread the word. If you know of anyone who might be interested in the Fellowship, we would appreciate you forwarding them the attached press release. We would also appreciate it if you would be willing to post information about our Fellowship on your blog.

I would be happy to discuss the Fellowship with you further if you would like additional information. I can be reached at 317-822-8102 ext. 101. And thank you in advance for any help you might be able to provide reaching out to potential candidates.

Thank you,

Corrie Heneghan
Chief Operating Officer
The Mind Trust
407 North Fulton Street, Suite 102
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 317-822-8102 ext. 101
Fax: 317-822-8149
Email: cheneghan@themindtrust.org

Attachment: EEF Launch Release_Final.doc

For Immediate Release

September 10, 2007

Contact: David Harris, 317-822-8102 x100

The Mind Trust launches Education Entrepreneur Fellowship; makes $900,000 initial investment in program

Fellowship is a nationally unique opportunity for entrepreneurs with great ideas to transform public education

INDIANAPOLIS – The Mind Trust, a new education nonprofit focused on promoting education entrepreneurship in Indianapolis, is now accepting applications for its flagship program, the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. The Fellowship will provide the nation’s most promising education entrepreneurs with the support they need to develop and launch initiatives that focus on wholly new ways of confronting public education’s most vexing problems. Fellows will target underserved or disadvantaged students with solutions that attack the root problems in the delivery of public education.

“The Fellowship is designed for leaders who envision entirely new approaches in public education.” said David Harris, President and CEO of The Mind Trust. “We are looking for the most capable entrepreneurs from around the country with the most innovative ideas to transform public education.”

Each Fellowship will last two years, with the first fellows beginning their work in spring or summer of 2008. Fellows’ annual salaries will be $90,000. Each fellow will also receive $20,000 for customized training and travel over the term of their Fellowship. The Mind Trust’s initial investment in the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship is approximately $900,000.

Fellows will be based at The Mind Trust in Indianapolis. While Indianapolis will be a focus of fellows’ work, it is expected that some fellows will launch statewide or national initiatives.

“This concentration of high quality entrepreneurial talent devoted to improving public education will be enormously beneficial to Indianapolis,” Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said. “Not only will The Mind Trust’s Fellowship make Indianapolis a national hub for effective education reform efforts, but the ventures launched will help the students in our city who need it most.” Mayor Peterson is the chair of The Mind Trust’s board of directors.

Fellowship application materials and additional information, including commentary about the Fellowship by national experts, are available on The Mind Trust’s website at http://www.themindtrust.org/. The deadline for the first stage of the application process is January 15, 2008.

The Mind Trust has already helped launch in Indianapolis Public Schools two of the nation’s most successful education initiatives – The New Teacher Project and College Summit.

The Mind Trust’s mission is to attract, support, and empower the nation's most effective and promising education entrepreneurs to transform public education outcomes for children in Indianapolis and beyond.

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Tags: academy, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education