Indianapolis based EdPower announced this week the fall 2012 opening of Tindley Preparatory Academy, the first all-boys charter school for grades 6-8 in Indianapolis and a national model for gender-based education.
Backed by nine years of intensive teaching experience of Indianapolis students and a number of real-world studies touting the learning benefits of single-gender education, Tindley Prep is modeled after the successful mayor-sponsored Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School and features nontraditional classroom learning and character education created to complement how boys learn.
“With Tindley Prep, EdPower is innovating education in Indianapolis by offering a unique school designed to best meet the unique needs of families and students,” said Mayor Greg Ballard. “Specifically, this charter offers opportunity for middle-school boys to better prepare for high school and beyond, with high expectations set as the standard for everyone. Removing obstacles to success, choice and accountability for all of our children gives parents a voice and once again demonstrates Indianapolis is at the forefront of national education reform.”
Tindley Prep will be located at 42nd Street and Sherman Drive in a soon-to-be-constructed 50,000-square-foot facility on 21 acres of land purchased from the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church.
The core principles of Tindley Prep include an accelerated curriculum to bring students up to, and beyond, grade level, and an emphasis on building scholar identity and character education.
Programs designed specifically to help boys learn will include:
Get moving program: This daily organized movement program will introduce students to new, and sometimes “old,” activities, such as yoga, martial arts, fencing, table tennis, climbing, soccer, badminton, cycling and others.
Mentoring program: By partnering with 100 Black Men, Kappa Alpha Psi, Big Brothers Big Sisters and other community organizations, Tindley Prep will offer mentoring for its students. Mentors will receive specific training to help students identify themselves as scholars and help students set goals and discuss and plan for positive outcomes, both academically and socially.
“The all-boys Tindley Prep serves as an extension of what we’re already doing well at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, which currently has several all-boys and all-girls classrooms,” said Marcus Robinson, CEO of Tindley Charter Network. “This new school allows us to be intentional in how we catch boys up to girls, especially in the areas of math and science.”
School facilities will include a large gym and hands-on science labs, among other classroom features geared toward boys. Expected enrollment is 400 students.
Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, which serves grades 6 through 12, has achieved outstanding results, with 100 percent of the school’s first four graduating classes enrolled in a four-year college or university.
Tindley Preparatory Academy is the first of three new charter schools EdPower is opening under the Tindley umbrella.
For more information about the school and how to enroll, visit www.edpower.org or call (317) 545-1745.