MARION COUNTY — There’s still a desperate need to fill teaching positions across the nation, and Indiana is no exception. There’s a new initiative multiplying the efforts to get more math teachers in Marion County schools and have them stay longer.
According to the Department of Education, in the Hoosier state, there are more than 1,400 open teaching positions, and it is even more difficult to fill positions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
A new program in Marion County called “Investing in Indiana’s Math Teaching Pipeline" is looking to find a solution to the problem.
“This initiative represents that there are already people in education, how do we help them take that next step,” Andrew Salmon, President & Co-founder of MathTrack Institute, said.
It’s an Indiana-based institution of higher education that started during the pandemic to help districts with their teacher shortages.
The latest teacher apprenticeship initiative partners with Purdue Global and the Lilly Foundation to support K-12 paraeducators already in Marion County districts.
It will allow them to attend college classes to get their teaching license at no cost.
“Most districts have people in their districts, but don’t have a pathway,” Salmon said. “It’s all about the working adult and getting them the education they need.”
“We give students in this program credit for their life experiences, prior credit learning, so they will get credit for that time in the classroom," Michele Riley, Associate Dean at Purdue Global, said. “So, the degree plan itself is in Professional Studies is flexible.”
The goal of the new push is to eliminate barriers to access.
It’s a challenge IPS Middle School teacher Ella Hereth has seen over her 15 years in the field.
“We need better teacher prep programs, but we also need to be rethinking how are we doing that,” Hereth told WRTV. “We have a shortage of math teachers in part because of that.”
Hereth now teaches high-ability math at Harshman Middle School and is an instructional coach for other teachers there.
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Her passion for change and innovation pushed her to inspire students and into the national spotlight.
She earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on K-12 math and science teachers.
It celebrates educators who demonstrate a deep mastery of their subject areas and an exceptional ability to inspire and engage students.
“In my classroom, I’m not doing all of the thinking. I get to sit back, I get to stand and watch them do math and it’s a lot more enjoyable," Hereth said.
Ultimately, the goal of the new initiative is to spark this kind of passion in others to help get more math teachers in the classroom and keep them in local districts longer.
“We’re having success in helping them see the transformation they want to make to be able to start having control of this problem that's been out of control for the last decade,” Salmon said. “Getting them on a pathway to be able to be a part of the teaching solutions for districts.”
Investing in Indiana’s Math Teaching Pipeline program will launch this spring. It plans to work with multiple Marion County districts.
For more information or to join, click here.
