Recruiting New Teachers? Education Group Says Let Teachers Lead

How to fix a statewide teacher shortage is still a big question for many schools, but an Indianapolis-based group has announced a new effort to recruit more qualified teachers, in a city with high turnover rates.

The Mind Trust focuses on bringing more school leaders and education groups to Indianapolis, and now, it’s working to draw more teachers to the area through a new campaign. It’s basically a marketing plan in partnership with the mayor’s office and Indianapolis Public Schools, showcasing the city and its schools to as many teachers as possible.

Director of talent strategy, Jackie Gantzer, says collaborating with educators to find the best tools to do that, is vital.

“We really learned the most when we listen to our local teachers,” Gantzer says. “Making sure teachers have the opportunity to lead the direction of any effort that applies to them is the most important takeaway."

A key part of the campaign will highlight teacher stories and different schools, but Gantzer says recruitment is only one piece of a larger strategy to hire, and keep, teachers.

Gantzer also says the new campaign will provide more data to help find teachers for high need areas, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and special education in the future.