2013 $100,000 Grant Winner Tindley Consolidates Middle Schools

Tindley Collegiate Academy Girls Middle School was the 2013 Impact 100 $100,000 award recipient. As the first all-girls middle school in Indiana, and notable for serving a majority African American population, the school used the Impact 100 grant to equip the Tindley STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) lab with computers, CAD software, drills, 3D modeling printers, and tools of all types.

Tindley Schools have announced that Tindley Collegiate will be consolidating with Tindley Preparatory, Tindley’s all-boys middle school. The new co-educational middle school will retain the Tindley Collegiate Academy name. And the Tindley STEM lab funded by Impact 100 will now be used by both young women and young men to learn more about science, technology, engineering and math.

The following letter sent to Impact 100 provides full details of the change:

Dear Impact 100 Greater Indianapolis,

Thank you for your ongoing support of our organization. We deeply appreciate the role our donors have played in the success of Tindley and its scholars. Our scholars continue to achieve remarkable academic results. Most recently, our largest senior class at 61 scholars has received 550 college acceptances and over $14 million in scholarship awards. And next month, we will be rooting for our Tindley boys basketball team in their pursuit of a second state championship. Tindley’s successes, both in terms of academic performance as well as extra-curricular activities, continue to raise the bar and set new standards within our community.

A little over a year ago, we began a transition into second generation leadership for Tindley Accelerated Schools. Kelli Marshall officially took over the helm as CEO of our network of 6 schools. This team’s first order of business was to hire a Chief Financial Officer which was accomplished in the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, as long-tenured board members began to retire from serving on the Tindley board, the Governance Committee began interviewing prospective new board candidates. Over the past nine months, seven new board members were confirmed to join the Tindley Board of Directors. Each brings diverse perspectives, unique skillsets, and a wealth of experience – we are well served by their additions.

This second generation of leadership has worked tirelessly and diligently to ensure we can achieve long-term financial sustainability in addition to our phenomenal academic results. We have developed a detailed financial sustainability plan that includes targeted enrollment growth, operational efficiencies, enhanced development efforts, consolidation of our middle schools, and restructuring of some onerous debt on 3 of our buildings. In addition, next school year, we will be consolidating our two single-gender middle schools, Tindley Preparatory Academy (TPA) and Tindley Collegiate Academy (TCA), into one school and retaining the Tindley Collegiate Academy name for the co-educational middle school. The school will be located in the TPA building on the 4010 North Sherman Drive campus. One building will support the enrollment of both schools with room for growth. This consolidation enables us to direct as many dollars as possible into the
classroom (rather than into facilities and overhead expenses) and keep salaries and wages competitive so that we retain our best teachers.

Building on the best practices of both schools, scholars will continue to receive the same high quality education in a co-educational environment. Our cultural expectations for both the gentlemen and ladies will remain the same. While we will no longer have single gender cohorts, programming to develop “girls into ladies of excellence” and “boys into sons of excellence” will remain a part of the social curriculum.

We value our relationship with you and intend to keep you updated on our progress during this transitional time. It is extraordinarily rewarding to know that Tindley has built an accelerated model that has clearly demonstrated that all children, regardless of their background and life circumstances, can achieve at the highest levels. For eleven consecutive years, 100% of our graduating seniors have been accepted into an accredited 4-year college or university! The Tindley vision and promise are alive and well, much of it thanks to your support.

Our board welcomes your questions and comments as we proceed with our strategic planning towards financial sustainability. I can always be reached via email – ahorst@iuhealth.org.

Thank you again for your commitment to our cause and our children.

Sincerely,
Adam Horst
Chair
Tindley Board of Directors