Donna Kinney teaches her eighth graders all about precision in her medical detectives class.
In one project, she guides her William Penn Middle School students through the dissection of a sheep brain. She gives her students symptoms of a neurological disorder and asks them where in the brain they would perform the surgery. She reminds the kids to be gentle with their dissections.
It’s an experience the longtime teacher says can shape how some of her eighth graders think about the future.
“I had a young lady last year that said, ‘You know, I always wanted to go into the medical field. Now I want to be a neurosurgeon,’” Kinney said. “If she had never had this opportunity, she may have never come to that conclusion.”
Kinney will soon have help connecting those students in her classroom to real-world careers thanks to a $5.5 million Lilly Foundation grant recently awarded to the IPS Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for Indianapolis Public Schools.
IPS and Lilly Foundation leaders announced the award during a news conference July 15 at the middle school. The grant will support the rollout of a new, districtwide initiative called Destination 2032, which seeks to increase engagement in STEM activities across IPS middle and high schools starting with the class of 2032, or this year’s incoming sixth graders.
That means, for example, students could soon see more career days and guest speakers in math and science fields visiting their school. But, the plan goes beyond that.
The goal is to introduce students to STEM careers at a pivotal moment in a student’s educational development. It comes alongside efforts to increase access to high-quality programming as part of the district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan. Since the plan’s start, IPS officials say, enrollment in STEM programs across the district has doubled.
The officials expect to roll out their new Destination 2032 programming over the next five years.
“By focusing on middle school — which is where a lot of students start to make critical career decisions — and then supporting those decisions throughout high school — as students begin to prepare for their next stage of life,” said Charlotte Hawthorne, the senior director of social impact at the Lilly Foundation, “we are able to ensure that all students, regardless of background, see themselves as future scientists, technologists, mathematicians and engineers.”
Support for STEM in middle school
The grant will provide more STEM coursework and mentoring to sixth through eighth graders at IPS’ two science-focused middle schools.
The new opportunities will start at William Penn, on the west side, later this year. And, district leaders anticipate introducing them to Arlington Middle School, on the east side, during the 2027-28 school year. All told, IPS estimates 1,900 middle schoolers will benefit.
Both schools will also get a Future Center. The idea borrows from a concept used across IPS’ four high schools.
William Penn Principal Chelsey Thompson anticipates one full-time staff member will lead the center and focus on activities that connect students to career paths. That could mean organizing career days or arranging visits from guest speakers who work in STEM fields.
It comes alongside a recent districtwide push to ensure every IPS student goes on at least one college visit each year they’re in middle school.
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“It’s really a pillar of what we do in the middle school space at IPS — it’s that exposure piece, allowing them to be exposed to different opportunities,” Thompson said. “And, to make sure there’s representation there for them as well, so they can see people that have walked similar paths to them that have been successful in these spaces.”
Continuing STEM experiences into high school
IPS officials plan to extend these enhanced STEM opportunities to students as they move into high school.
A STEM fellowship will be offered at Arsenal Technical High School, likely starting with a small cohort of students who will be placed together in advanced science and math courses along with specialized programs like engineering and computer science.
District leaders anticipate developing more specific plans for this over the next couple of years as this year’s sixth graders grow closer to high school. For now, IPS leaders envision building in dual-credit or workplace certification opportunities for these students while they’re in high school.
It’s modeled after a fellowship program at Crispus Attucks that places high schoolers in IU Health hospitals as paid summer interns and senior fellows. The students can also earn professional medical credentials before their high school graduation.
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“We really want to take that interest coming from Arlington and William Penn in those STEM areas to tailor that for their experience,” said Austin Dodd, IPS’ director of high school academies and pathways.
STEM and Rebuilding Stronger
IPS officials say the STEM announcement comes as the next step in the district’s ongoing Rebuilding Stronger campaign — a multiyear initiative designed to reconfigure schools and expand access to popular academic and extracurricular programs across the district.
William Penn Middle School, for example, transitioned last school year from a K-8 school to a 6-8 middle school. Referendum dollars approved by voters in a 2023 election have helped the school open four new STEM labs for students to practice hands-on activities like dissections or construction projects.
Kinney, the William Penn Middle School teacher, is one of many educators touched by Rebuilding Stronger. She went from teaching science her first seven years at the school to taking on new classes like medical detectives, app creators and computer science innovators and makers.
“The students will be like, ‘Ms. Kinney, why is your class so much shorter than everybody else’s?’” the teacher said. “It’s not. It’s just that they’re so busy from the time that they get in until the time they leave that the time goes by so quickly for them. It’s fun to see those light bulbs go off.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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