Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. It is no secret that the U.S. struggles with a skills gap. According to a March 2018 report released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Burning Glass Technologies, “surveys of employers routinely find that companies have difficulty finding skilled workers.” This national finding holds true in Indiana, which faces a gap in “middle skill” jobs – i.e., jobs that require more than a high school education but not necessarily a four-year college degree. There are many factors that contribute to our state’s skills gap, perhaps the most fundamental of which is that too many Hoosier […]

Ellen Quigley is the Vice President of Programs at the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation An interview with Amar Patel, Executive Director, Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA) Background TFA has a vision that all Indianapolis children will lead lives of their choosing and collectively contribute to a more vibrant and just city. As a leadership development institution, TFA seeks to develop collective leadership for educational equity, excellence, and broader systems change – in its students and its corps members. Annually, TFA recruits over 60 diverse individuals as corps members who commit to teach for two years in an Indianapolis public school. Nearly 40% identify as people of color and 85% relocate […]