IUSB School of Education programs encourage minorities and others to consider teaching as a career

Currently there are 800 students in the IU South Bend undergraduate program and 800 more students in graduate classes, making education the largest graduate school on the campus. More than 4,000 education graduates have earned diplomas from IUSB.

Interim Dean of the School of Education Gwynn Mettetal said IU South Bend’s impact is felt daily in the classrooms, school offices, administration buildings and beyond.

“The influence is felt throughout the region. We have grad students from Gary. They carpool in once a week for graduate classes in special education,” she said.

Mettetal explained that the School of Education has implemented or will be kicking off three new programs to promote teaching as a career choice to minority students and others who might not seek post-secondary educational opportunities.

One such program is the College Preparatory Initiative (CPI), which introduces higher education to middle school children who have expressed a desire to go college. Julie Dance, CPI director, said that the program reaches about 300 middle school students in need of a helping hand by placing IU South Bend education students in several school buildings per week to do tutoring. CPI also opens educational doors by taking the middle schoolers on various field trips and to IU Bloomington football games.

According to Mettetal, as these middle school students move into high school, her office will be waiting to encourage them toward teaching as a viable career option through a cadet teaching program. In exchange for college credit, the cadet teaching program puts high school students into elementary and middle school classrooms to tutor.

Another new program, Project TEAM (Transitional Educational Achievement Model), will ensure that more minorities will move into the education field. The project will direct minority students into education with scholarships.

“Good, committed students will get financial help and will stay in education,” Mettetal said.