RAMSEY, Ind. — A Southern Indiana school district celebrated a new program meant to retain and hire teachers Thursday.
North Harrison County Schools (NHCS) announced a new partnership that will help invest in their educators.
According to a press release, NHCS and BloomBoard partnered together to help teachers earn accredited Master's Degree of Curriculum and Instruction from any university partnered with BloomBoard.
NHCS will cover half the costs for 18 staff members and will give them a $5,000 pay increase once they complete the program. Anyone who participates will then have to work in the district for at least three years.
Superintendent Nathan Freed said their teachers "want the best practices and instructional strategies to share within their classroom."
“Growing and advancing our staff while keeping them teaching supports our school community’s commitment to excellence," Freed said. "This program is a powerful and valuable way to make education a benefit of employment at North Harrison."
There were an estimated 980 teacher vacancies in Indiana in the 2020-2021 school year.
According to the Indiana Department of Education, there are currently about 1,400 teaching jobs available in the state.
Freed said his district isn't seeing a teacher shortage and hopes this program will keep it that way.
Fourth grade general education teacher, Kayla Owsley, said she jumped at the chance to participate.
"I tell my students, 'Hey, Ms. Owsley is in school too. I'm learning. You guys are learning," she said.
Owsley said this shows how much the district cares about building internally.
"You don't get that in every district, so that alone should keep people here," she said. "It's definitely going to keep me here."
Owsley is proud to be a part of the program and to grow into an even better educator than before. She aspires to be a principal and even a superintendent one day.
BloomBoard said this is the first partnership with a school district in Indiana.
BloomBoard CEO Sanford Kenyon said they're proud to partner with the school district and "assist with its efforts to honor teachers and support their advancement."
"This partnership provides teachers access to unique, on-the-job learning that allows them to show what they know in their classroom practice and earn a university degree at the same time, all financially supported by the district," Kenyon said.
Freed said more than half of the eligible teachers in North Harrison County signed up for the program, which to him signals the tenacity and drive of his teachers.
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