Former Pacers star George Hill opens charter school on Indy’s east side
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Former Indiana Pacers star George Hill was in Indianapolis on Monday to celebrate a new charter school he helped start.
A dream six years in the making will come true this fall when the Him By Her Collegiate School For the Arts opens its doors.
“I was always in this area growing up as a kid. My dad actually stayed right there down the street, so this place is dear to me,” said Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill.
Just blocks from where George Hill grew up and the very court where he began his basketball career, he begins paving the way for the next generation of his community.
“I believe in opportunity. I firmly believe that a lot of inner city kids don’t get that opportunity. The resources are never put back in the inner city. We’re giving kids that hope,” Hill said.
“George called me one day and said HIM by HER stands for ‘helping improve mankind by healing every race.’ I said absolutely, and he said, ‘You know what? That’s what the country needs. That’s what we need,’” Harry Dunn, the co-founder of the HIM By HER Foundation, said.
Hill partnered with Dunn back in 2014. Now years later, they’re offering a glimpse of hope for the city’s east side with the unveiling of their new charter school. According to Hill, the project comes at a time when his hometown needs it more than ever before.
“I don’t care if you’re black, brown, blue, green. Whatever race you are, we don’t see that here. We see human beings, and that’s what we’re trying to raise,” said Hill.
This fall, Him By Her Collegiate School for the Arts will offer a focus on performing arts for kindergarten through second grade, but Hill has big goals for the years ahead.
“This is something that we want to continue to grow, turn into a high school, have a heck of a graduation rate,” Hill said. “Giving kids an equal opportunity to do the things they are blessed to do, whether it’s writing, singing, sports, drawing, whatever it is. We want to offer those avenues.”
Enrollment is open now.