StateImpact Special: Changing Gary’s Teaching Mindset
“That’s my goal for every year, is just to be better than the person I was last year.”
GCSC administrators work with education consultant Irving Jones over the summer. (Photo Credit: Rachel Morello/StateImpact Indiana)
One could argue that’s a sentiment any school administrator would be happy to hear from his or her teachers. And it’s one the Gary Community School Corporation is emphasizing to help improve its current situation.
All this week, we’re bringing you stories from inside the Gary Community School Corporation – a district many agree is in need of repair. Check out our previous stories introducing the city of Gary and some of the major players in the local schools – including GCSC Superintendent Pruitt and her administrative team, who are working to change the perception of the so-called failing district.
Today, you’ll meet the beating heart of the Gary school system: its teachers. Many colleagues have been here together for years – and now, they’re starting to see some new members join the ranks.
- Mindset Makes The ManWhat happens when schools employ an aged teaching force? New students and new concepts continue to flow into classrooms – but stagnant mindsets make them harder to teach. Our series examining the problems and progress in the Gary Community School Corporation continues with a look at how the district is encouraging teachers to get out of their old habits and embrace new strategies.Download
A sneak peek…
While the rest of Indiana struggles with a teacher shortage, we don’t know what that will look like in Gary. One has to wonder: with the way the district and its city have been struggling, how much talent will they actually be able to recruit?
For the first time in 20 or 30 years, a big group of Gary’s teachers are moving on, creating openings for new blood. So this year, Superintendent Pruitt and other GCSC administrators are making sure all district teachers – young and old, new and returning – are on the same page.
You got to get out of what you think and what you been doing for 40 years and we gotta move over here, or else you need to go home. Getting just that mindset – fixed mindset to a growth mindset, so that people can see us someplace else.
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