Indianapolis, IN, August 24, 2017—Teach Plus Indianapolis has selected 20 demonstrably-effective Indianapolis-area teachers as Fellows of its 2017-18 Teaching Policy Fellowship cohort. During the 12-month experience, Fellows will look to magnify the impact they have in their classrooms through a specially-designed course of study in education policy and advocacy, personal interactions with education leaders, and opportunities to advocate for policies that will better serve their students and the profession.
“This past year, Teach Plus teachers’ recommendations were a significant part of Indiana’s newly-enacted laws on assessment and career pathways for teachers, and of our state’s ESSA plan,” said Elsie Owolo, Teach Plus Indiana Policy Manager. “We’re looking forward to another exciting and impactful year ahead. Our new Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and have a strong desire to make positive change in their classrooms, schools, and districts.”
The Fellowship builds its work around issues that are timely and relevant to local community, city, and state. In focusing on such priorities as teacher retention, teacher residency, and ESSA, the new Fellows will continue to build on the policy and advocacy successes of previous cohorts of Teach Plus Indianapolis Policy Fellows. The new cohort will continue through June 2018.
“After teaching for eight years, I wanted a new challenge but ultimately didn’t want to leave the classroom,” said Susan Scroggins, a 10th grade English teacher at Herron High School. “As a Fellow, I hope to use my voice to create a positive change for my profession and for my students in areas where it counts.”
The new Fellows come from a variety of public schools and districts in Indianapolis. Of the 20 educators, nine teach in Indianapolis Public Schools, four teach in Township districts, seven teach in charter schools, and one teaches in a turnaround school. Many of the incoming teachers have been recognized for outstanding instruction by their respective schools and districts.
The 2017-18 Teach Plus Indianapolis Teaching Policy Fellows are:
Idalmi Acosta, Harshman Magnet Middle School
Nicholas Brewer, Westlane Middle School
Mariah Cawthorne, Westlane Middle School
Emily Chestnut, Clark Elementary School
Olivia Corya, KIPP Indy College Prep
Melody Coryell, Shortridge High School
Phoebe Duvall, Paramount School of Excellence
Nathan Evans, Avondale Meadows Academy
Shivani Goyal, Clarence Farrington Elementary School
Pennie Gregory, George Washington Community School
Shon Harris, Avondale Meadows Academy
Kayla Marshall, Paramount School of Excellence
Stephanie Mizen, Cold Spring Magnet School
RonNella Moore, The Excel Center-Meadows
Nichole Moore, North Madison Elementary School
Matthew Perkins, H.L. Harshman Magnet Middle School
Susan Scroggins, Herron High School
Katherine Speer, KIPP Indy College Prep Middle
Sarah TeKolste, Emmerich Manual High School
Haley Wing, James Whitcomb Riley School
About Teach Plus:
Teach Plus empowers excellent, experienced teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Teach Plus programs are designed to place highly effective teachers at the center of improvements in schools as leaders of their peers and outside schools influencing policy decisions that affect their classrooms. The programs develop excellent teachers into leaders who achieve change and mobilize others in their school, district, state, and across the nation to bring change to scale. Since its inception in August 2007, Teach Plus has grown to a network of more than 26,000 solutions-oriented teachers across the country. www.teachplus.org
