Joshua Francis, interim dean of Indiana Tech\u2019s College of General Studies and director of teacher preparation, has been invited by Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz, to join a commission that will work to improve teacher retention and recruitment within the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored to have this opportunity to work with Superintendent Ritz and my\u00a0colleagues from public schools\u00a0and teacher education programs from across the state,\u201d Francis said.<\/p>\n
The 49-person Blue Ribbon Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Excellent Educators was formed last month and will meet for the first time on Sept. 11. Ritz will co-chair the panel, a mix of educators, legislators and other stakeholders, with Maryann Santos de Barona, dean of Purdue University\u2019s College of Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a lifelong educator, I know firsthand the importance of having the most effective teachers in our classrooms and the impact they can have on the lives of their students,\u201d Ritz said. \u201cIndiana needs to insure that our schools can recruit the new teachers they need while also working to keep our most effective teachers in the classroom so that they can be a resource for those new teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Ritz, Indiana has seen an 18 percent drop in the number of teachers receiving first-time licenses over the last five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI applaud Superintendent Ritz for her dedication to this profession and for her work in\u00a0pulling together teachers and teacher educators from across the state\u00a0to help set the direction for educational policy in Indiana,\u201d Francis said. \u201cI am excited to be at the table with such a talented group of individuals to work on such an important issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-93268","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n