Indianapolis welcomes Simon Youth Academy
The Indianapolis Public Schools have teamed up with the Simon Youth Foundation to open a school where many kids already hang out – in the mall.
The Foundation will open a Simon Youth Academy at Circle Centre Mall next fall. The academy, which will have approximately 80 students, is modeled after 22 other similar institutions across the nation. The school will focus on helping students finish their high school diplomas.
The foundation's CEO and president, J. Michael Durnil, said the idea for the academy came about when they began noticing that young people were not in school, but hanging around the mall. When mall managers asked what they were doing there, the kids said they did not feel like they fit in any place else. Thus, the idea was born of having schools in the malls, where teens felt most at home.
The new school will comprise approximately 5,000 square feet and will be located on the mall's fourth floor. It is estimated that the cost to modify the space will be around $500,000, with another $750,000 needed to finance startup costs. Public school teachers will be the instructors at the facility. A spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Public Schools said they were happy to partner with the foundation in the new venture.
School officials might consider working with a banner printing company to create a funny, colorful banner to welcome the first students to their new school.
The Foundation will open a Simon Youth Academy at Circle Centre Mall next fall. The academy, which will have approximately 80 students, is modeled after 22 other similar institutions across the nation. The school will focus on helping students finish their high school diplomas.
The foundation's CEO and president, J. Michael Durnil, said the idea for the academy came about when they began noticing that young people were not in school, but hanging around the mall. When mall managers asked what they were doing there, the kids said they did not feel like they fit in any place else. Thus, the idea was born of having schools in the malls, where teens felt most at home.
The new school will comprise approximately 5,000 square feet and will be located on the mall's fourth floor. It is estimated that the cost to modify the space will be around $500,000, with another $750,000 needed to finance startup costs. Public school teachers will be the instructors at the facility. A spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Public Schools said they were happy to partner with the foundation in the new venture.
School officials might consider working with a banner printing company to create a funny, colorful banner to welcome the first students to their new school.