Shawntel Angeles has wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember.
She loves helping people and seeing the students she tutors learn and grow. But mostly, Angeles was inspired by her own teachers, like her high school geometry teacher, who she said cared about students beyond just their grades or achievements.
“Kids benefit from it,” Angeles, an incoming senior at Ben Davis, said. “They have that respect for you, that they also know that you care about them on a deeper level.”
Angeles is one of 30 high school students who are participating in University of Indianapolis’ Teacher Prep Academy, a free weeklong summer program. Now in its second year, high schoolers from 11 school districts in the Indianapolis area come to UIndy’s southside campus for a week to learn about being a teacher.
But it’s not just about giving high school students a week of summer fun. Kelley Carnagua, the program coordinator, said UIndy is hoping to help combat Indiana’s teacher shortage by creating a path for students to pursue education degrees after graduating high school.
According to the Indiana Department of Education’s job board, as of June 5 there are more than 2,200 vacancies for teaching positions statewide and nearly 1,000 openings for other jobs within school districts.
Through the teacher prep program, Carnagua is also trying to combat negative stereotypes surrounding teaching, such as high burnout rates and low pay, to attract young people to the profession.
“We really put an emphasis on, if this is what you want to do, it’s going to pay out for you and your heart and in your mind,” she said.
Educating future teachers
Through UIndy’s program, students can take education classes and get college credit. But there’s also a breadth of opportunities to learn about teaching outside university classrooms.
This week, students visited an elementary school in Lawrence Township and helped teachers in a summer school classroom for the afternoon. There’s also a trip planned to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Carnagua hopes the program will also create a community of future educators. Students in the program live in UIndy dorms for a week and get to know students who also have a passion for teaching.
“We really just focus on building community because for high school students, finding other people that have a similar passion for their future, it’s really unique,” Carnagua said.
UIndy makes the Teacher Prep Academy free through a $10.6-million state grant aimed at getting more students into college education programs. The university has also used the money to expand education dual credit classes at area high schools and fund a paid apprenticeship program for UIndy students majoring in education.
Last year, 80% of students who participated in the program said they wanted to pursue a career in teaching, according to a survey conducted after the camp, Carnagua said.
“Teachers are teaching the students that are going to build our future,” she said. “So it’s really important that we’re investing in our teachers now that are helping build those foundations for every career.”
Teachers inspiring teachers
Mackenzie McKinney had never considered a career in education until this past year, when she met her high school chemistry teacher.
McKinney’s teacher made her whole class fall in love with chemistry, but more importantly, she was supportive and fun.
“I see some of my friends struggling,” McKinney, an incoming junior at Whiteland Community High School, said. “I want my students to have fun and not just struggle, and feel like they can’t come to the teacher.”
McKinney’s experience is common for others in the program. Many were inspired to consider a career in education by a teacher they had who impacted them.
For Kai Davids, it was his middle school band teachers. Davids, an incoming junior at Ben Davis, said his teachers went “above and beyond” to support him, even paying for repairs to equipment when he couldn’t afford it.
“They cared about our outside lives, too, not just school, and they taught me a lot,” Davids said. “I want to be able to do that for other kids.”
Davids is now a drum major in Ben Davis’ marching band, and hopes to become a high school band director one day so he can support young people through music the way his teachers did for him.
As for Angeles, she’s going to be a senior this year, and college is on her mind. While she doesn’t totally know what school she wants to go to, she’s hoping to major in secondary education.
Her dream is to teach high school math — just like her geometry teacher.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus.
Got a higher ed story? Contact Mirror Indy reporter Claire Rafford at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on social media @clairerafford.
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