The Mind Trust in Indianapolis has been the central engine of charter creation in that city and holds itself up as a model charter authorizer.
Until it was “deceived” by a would-be charter operator with a rosy vision, according to this story by Stephanie Wang in Chalkbeat Indiana.
She begins:
To launch a “transformational” middle school in an overlooked eastside neighborhood, Indianapolis charter advocates turned to a man students call Coach T.
For two decades, Tariq Al-Nasir ran his Stemnasium enrichment programs with a mission of helping Black and brown students realize their “superpowers” in science, technology, engineering, and math. With a resume boasting advanced degrees from MIT and Stanford, Al-Nasir put forward a vision of education in which hands-on lessons in coding, flying drones, and tinkering with robots could change children’s lives.
Calling him “brilliant” at working with students, the influential charter incubator The Mind Trust gave Al-Nasir a two-year, $800,000 fellowship last summer to develop CONTINUE READING: The Mind Trust in Indiana Gives $800,000 to Charter Operator, Ignoring Lawsuits, Multiple Financial Scandals and Fake Resume | Diane Ravitch's blog