Austin celebrates Madison County schools receiving Attract, Prepare, Retain Grant to support educator pipeline

INDIANAPOLIS— The Indiana Department of Education has announced Madison County schools as one of the recipients of a $10.6 million grant to support the attraction and retention of state educators. The Attract, Prepare, Retain Grant aims to help schools and communities strengthen, expand and diversify the educator pipeline. State Rep. Terri Austin (D-Anderson), who is a former educator and champion of Hoosier teachers, today celebrated the announcement of Anderson Community Schools as one of the grant recipients. 

This grant will aid schools and educators in 29 Indiana counties. Recipients of the grant have demonstrated a commitment to supporting the professional development of local educators, including investing in strategies such as growing the number of opportunities for high school students and minority populations to pursue careers as educators. 

“Make no mistake: Indiana is in the middle of an educator shortage that is bound to have irreversible short and long-term effects on our students, school support staff, and ultimately, the Hoosier economy and workforce,” Austin said. “The time to act is now. Indiana must put its money where its mouth is to recruit and retain top educator talent. Today's announcement is a great first step, and I know that schools in Madison County will utilize every dollar to ensure maximum impact for their students, faculty and community.”

Today, 2,812 school support positions are posted on the Indiana Department of Education's new online job board. Austin, a former educator and one of the elected representatives of the Madison County area, also added that 1,562 of those open positions are in search of teachers.

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.

A full list of the school districts and partners that are recipients of the Attract, Prepare, Retain Grant can be found here.