Indiana panel holds 1st meeting on decline in new teachers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Members of a commission state schools chief Glenda Ritz formed to investigate why a declining number of people are becoming teachers in Indiana heard from education experts during their first meeting.

Staffers with the Great Lakes Comprehensive Center addressed the 49-member commission Friday during the panel’s meeting at the Indiana Statehouse.

The center’s presentation indicated that some of the possible causes for Indiana’s declining number of new teachers include teacher salaries, a lack of mentoring and limited teacher recruitment efforts.

Ritz formed the panel that includes educators and lawmakers to look into why there’s been an 18 percent drop in the number of first-time teacher licenses issued in Indiana over the past five years.

That decline has some school district officials worried about being able to fill open teaching positions.