Monarca Academy expands to high school with $2 million grant

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