Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.
When families come to tour Monarca Academy, founder Francisco Valdiosera sometimes shows them a picture of himself and his wife — both first-generation college graduates of Latino heritage — surrounded by their parents at their Stanford University graduation.
The middle school’s embrace of the Latino culture and the immigrant experience has attracted those families since it launched in 2022 on the west side of Indianapolis. Seeing someone from that community who has obtained a prestigious education, Valdiosera said, speaks to them.
“I show them that picture, and I say, ‘This is what I want for your children. That’s me, but that’s your son,’” he said. “‘That’s my wife, but that’s what I want for your daughter.’”
That kind of pitch has helped the school grow from just 41 sixth-grade students in 2022 to 217 across grades 6-8 this year at its location within Northwest Middle School in Indianapolis Public Schools. Monarca plans to add a ninth grade in the fall — and eventually hopes to add grades 10-12 as allowed in its charter —with help from a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.
It’s a significant step for a charter school serving a majority Latino population that, like many other schools, must navigate the fears of federal immigration enforcement and its impact on families. The expansion into high school also comes as Indianapolis Public Schools and charters face an unknown future in how transportation and buildings are distributed to schools.
The grant will help fund a counselor as well as intensive tutoring that staff hope will particularly help the school’s many multilingual students.
The funding complements a $200,000 grant the school received from the endowment in June. That boosted its arts and extracurricular programming — which includes ballet folklórico from Mexico and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira — helped the school implement restorative justice discipline practices, and supported a multilingual learner specialist.
“As we’ve been able to expand every year with our programming, with our athletics, with our arts, it’s been amazing to see how different kids are feeling more connected to school,” said founding Principal Felicia Sears.
Monarca’s pillars encourage students to celebrate their roots
Monarca, Spanish for “monarch,” is inspired by the monarch butterfly that represents transformation and migration.
“As a school name, Monarca Academy signals that students are not defined by where they begin,” the school said in a statement. “They are in motion. They are becoming.”
The school, which exists in the culturally diverse part of northwest Indianapolis, is rooted in three values: academic rigor through “ganas” or perseverance, community or “comunidad,” and pride — “orgullo” — that encourages each student to embrace their culture.
Staff say that approach is particularly helpful in the country’s current political environment. Amid fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they encourage students to talk to the school’s social worker and try to see all the challenges the student may be bringing with them into the classroom.
“The approach of, ‘I’m going to see you and love you as a human first’ is absolutely essential to all the work that we’re doing and all the barriers that we’re trying to remove,” said seventh grade English teacher Danielle Boylan.
A significant portion of the $2 million grant, which will be used over five years, will help fund a counselor position to focus on academic and emotional support for students and help the school’s existing social worker — a key position as the school continues to grow.
Staff hope that tutoring funded through the grant will also help English language learner students improve fluency and understand English language arts content. Over 76% of the school’s students are English language learners this year, according to state enrollment records.
In the future, the school also plans to add a college and career readiness coordinator.
Monarca, which is part of the IPS Innovation Network of autonomous schools, plans to stay in Northwest Middle School as it grows.
But state lawmakers are considering legislation that would create an Indianapolis Public Education Corporation to control school buildings throughout IPS. The corporation would determine which schools have access to certain buildings, a process that could be based in part on a school rating system it would develop.
“We feel confident that whatever happens and whoever has control of this building, we will have a place for Monarca Academy students here,” Valdiosera said.
Loani, an eighth grader, was attracted to Monarca because the school “wanted people to show up as themselves.” Chalkbeat is not providing the last names of students due to the current political climate around immigration enforcement.
As she discussed high school options with her mother, she realized that she wanted to stay for ninth grade.
“It wasn’t just like a school — I was close with everyone, every staff, every student,” she said. “I’ve known them personally for years. So that’s why I’m going to stay.”
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
