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mariama carson

Mariama Carson

A Pike Township principal who is a national award-winning educator will launch a Spanish-language immersion public charter school in Indianapolis through The Mind Trust’s prestigious Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. Mariama Carson is the eighth recipient of the Fellowship since The Mind Trust started the program in 2008. In an exclusive Afternoons with Amos interview, Mariama Carson talked with Amos about this new opportunity, what she plans for her school, the difficulty leaving a successful education career in Pike Township and her concerns about taking this new responsibility given that her husband is a US Congressman. The Educational Entrepreneur Fellowship is a two-year deal where talented education leaders receive substantial salary and benefits so they can have the necessary time and support to launch break-the-mold initiatives addressing key education challenges in Indianapolis. In her 17 year education career, Mariama Carson, a former classroom teacher, has earned many honors including receiving a $25,000 Milken Educator Award. She and her school received a Student Success Grant from the United Way to implement innovative practices school-wide to enhance student learning.  Carson is The Mind Trust’s first Indianapolis-based Education Entrepreneur Fellow and the first to start a charter school. In her interview, Carson tells Amos her proposed school will begin with preschool and go to second grade in its first year. At Carson’s proposed school, students will receive immersion in both English and Spanish. The planned school will incorporate many of the techniques and things Carson has learned in her education career. Which included as principal at Snacks Crossing helping that school’s students improve their student achievement in state ISTEP tests and improving the school’s state letter grade rating from a “D” to a “B”. Click the Media Player to hear Amos’ Exclusive Interview with Mind Trust Education Entrepreneur Fellow Mariama Carson. Runs 16 Minutes ©2014 WTLC/Radio One.