The Indiana Department of Education recently announced the recipients of $10.6 million in funding, which will aid Indiana’s schools and community partners in supporting local initiatives to attract and retain educators in school buildings across the state.
South Montgomery School Corp. is listed among those districts to benefit from the Attract, Prepare, Retain Grant. The local school corporation is one of nine partners under the lead applicant of Wabash Valley Education Center, which was awarded $870,000.
“The recipients of this grant understand the challenges of today’s labor market and know that schools and community partners must work together to find creative methods for recruiting and retaining Indiana’s very best educators,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “Whether through the expansion of registered apprenticeships, Grow Your Own programs, or partnerships with local and national higher education providers, the innovative solutions funded by this grant will provide important support for Indiana educators and students.”
This grant will support schools and educators in 29 Indiana counties. Due to an overwhelming number of strong applications, total funding for this grant was expanded from the originally slated $5 million to $10.6 million. Funding for the grant is allocated as a part of the state’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.
Successful applications focused on increasing leadership and career advancement within the educator profession, as well as increasing opportunities for high school students and underrepresented populations to pursue careers as educators. This could include increasing:
• The number of opportunities for high school students to enter educator preparation programs with transferable post-secondary credits,
• Underrepresented populations among candidates enrolling in educator preparation programs,
• Opportunities for leadership and career advancement within the profession, and
• Opportunities for sharing information, practices and ideas among other educators.
The launch of this grant is the latest initiative led by IDOE to support educator talent, quality and value, which is one of the department’s three strategic priorities. These efforts include launching a comprehensive educator supply and demand marketplace, which provides real-time data and a simplified process for posting openings to a statewide audience. IDOE also expanded the Indiana Learning Lab, which serves as a one-stop-shop for instructional resources, professional development and other best practices for educators — and now has nearly 28,000 members.
