Child Care Makes a Difference at Indianapolis Met, Meet Symone Maxey
Indianapolis Metropolitan High School is a free public charter school designed for students in grades 9 - 12 who are experiencing barriers to their education, such as parenting, pregnancy, homelessness, involvement in foster care, identified as special education, previous enrollments at other schools or involvement with the criminal justice system.Symone Maxey, 17, enrolled in Indianapolis Met this year after realizing she needed some additional support to move forward along her educational path. Pregnant at the age of 14, Symone struggled to balance school, child care and a social life.
“I was not ready physically, emotionally or financially to become a parent,” Symone said. “I had to drop out of school after my baby was born because my child care fell through.”
After Symone’s daughter, Dyanna, turned two, Symone began thinking about completing her high school education.
“I told myself that I have to do it,” Symone said. “I wanted a better future for myself and for Dyanna.”
Symone learned about Indianapolis Met — and its free on-site child care — through an alumni who recently graduated and who also had a child at a young age.
“The free child care is my favorite part about Indianapolis Met,” Symone said. “They take care of Dyanna while I am in class and provide food and snacks, too.”
Symone also enjoys Indianapolis Met’s course variety. In addition to Algebra II, English, and Information Technology, she is enrolled in P.U.M.A. Queens, a class that serves “Powerful, Untouchable, Mighty and Aspiring” women who want to learn life skills to use after graduation relating to money management, family responsibilities and how to be a leader. Students in this class also listen to guest speakers discuss what it’s like to be a woman in the workplace.
“Indianapolis Met’s classes are more one-on-one than what I remember from my previous school,” Symone said. “I really like my P.U.M.A. Queens class because my teacher is always there for me.”
Now halfway through her junior year, Symone is already thinking about her next step.
“I am still figuring out what I want to do, but I know I want a career after graduation,” Symone said. “I want to keep building a great life for Dyanna to grow up in.”
Indianapolis Met places an emphasis on ensuring students enroll in college or enter into a career that offers a living wage post-graduation. To learn more about Indianapolis Met, or to enroll a student, visit indianapolismet.org.
