Indiana Charter School Fellowship

Indiana Charter School Fellowship - Application

Thank you for your interest in the Indiana Charter School Fellowship. We are excited to learn more about your vision, leadership, and commitment to expanding high-quality public school options for Indiana students.

The Fellowship is grounded in the broader statewide priorities that shape Indiana’s education landscape. These priorities reflect a shared commitment across the state to improving student outcomes and achievement, strengthening college, career, and workforce readiness, expanding high-quality options for families, empowering educators and leaders, and using data and innovation to drive continuous improvement. This application seeks to understand how your proposed school model advances these statewide priorities and contributes to a stronger set of educational opportunities for Indiana students and families. Please see the below from our state department of education for more information.

Office of Educational Options and Quality (OEOQ)

The Full Application will ask you to articulate the vision, design, and operational readiness of your proposed school model, as well as your leadership philosophy and approach to community partnership. You will submit a combination of:

Written responses,
Video responses via SparkHire, and
Artifacts that demonstrate your readiness to design, launch, or replicate a high-quality school.

These components, taken together, allow us to understand your capacity to build and sustain a school model that is academically rigorous, student-centered, operationally sound, and aligned with the needs of Indiana communities.

Applicants will be notified in late January if they are invited to move to the interview stage. If you have questions about the application or the Fellowship process, please contact bgibson@themindtrust.org.

Deadline: January 16, 2026, by 11:59 PM EST

Section 1.1: Personal Information

First Name

Middle Initial

Last Name

Cell Phone

Section 1.2: School Information

Please complete below based on your current knowledge.

Desired School Name

Desired School Location

Desired First Year Enrollment Goal

Application Type

Do you have an identified school leader?

Section 2: Open Ended Questions

In addition to the written application, candidates will complete a video interview via SparkHire. This portion of the process enables the selection committee to gain a deeper understanding of your communication style, leadership presence, and alignment with the Fellowship’s vision.

2.1: Leadership Experience (Sparkhire Questions)

A. Describe how you have authentically engaged your current community to advance a meaningful objective. How will these experiences shape your approach to launching a school in the Indiana community you hope to serve? B. Share a moment in your leadership journey where you demonstrated entrepreneurial thinking, identifying a challenge, taking initiative, and driving measurable change. How does this experience prepare you to design, replicate, or launch a new school?

C. Describe your approach to leading adults. How do you build a strong team culture, invest staff in academic expectations, and ensure teachers feel supported and accountable? Please share one concrete example.

2.2: School Vision and Mission (Written 750 Word Response)

A. Describe the core elements of your school model, including your mission, vision, and the student experience. What problem does your model solve in Indiana’s educational landscape, and what makes your approach compelling, rigorous, and necessary?

B. Describe your philosophy and approach for observing instruction, providing feedback, and building teacher capacity. How does this connect to your operational decision-making and overall school coherence?

C. How will the Indiana Charter School Fellowship accelerate your readiness to launch, replicate, or expand your school? What strengths will you bring to the Fellowship, and what development areas will you prioritize? Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals for sustainability and growth in Indiana?

2.3: Uploaded Artifacts

A. Five-Year Financial Forecast (All Applicants): Enrollment targets and performance against those targets (if currently operating).Revenue and expense assumptions grounded in data and aligned to your growth plan.Current debt schedule, including any existing loan covenant.This forecast should demonstrate that replication, expansion, or launch can be undertaken from a position of financial strength.

B. Observation & Feedback Framework + sample notes (video, PPT, or PDF).

C. Facility Plan (Replication Applicants Only) If you are applying as a replication or expansion candidate, please include a facility plan that outlines:

Your current facilities footprint.
The proposed facility strategy for replication (location assumptions, capacity, costs, and timeline).
Demonstration of how your facility plan aligns with the five-year financial forecast.

D. Board Roster & Governance Summary (All Applicants) A full board roster, including member bios, professional expertise, tenure, and committee assignments.

2.4: SparkHire Interview Requirement

Your application is not complete until all three required components have been submitted:

Written responses
Uploaded artifacts
Video responses submitted through SparkHire

Please confirm that you understand this requirement.

Once you are ready, complete the SparkHire video interview using the link below:

SparkHire Interview Link: https://hire.li/wF1SOY8tBgp3c1TZAmmmN

If you have any questions about this portion of the application or need support with SparkHire, please reach out to bgibson@themindtrust.org.

Contact Information