La Porte High School English Teacher Selected to be on Blue Ribbon Commission

laporte-slicersMatt Presley, English teacher at LPHS, was selected to be on the Blue Ribbon Commission on The Recruitment and Retention of Excellent Educators this year.

Presley was approached by a board of educators led by Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. Presley went to a conference in Indianapolis in September to discuss the issues the Blue Ribbon Commission will be facing. Their main focus is why educators are becoming harder to retain, and how to revert this trend.

“It’s an honor. I think teaching is a great profession,” Presley said.

Presley is in his 3rd year teaching at LaPorte High School. He also taught for 9 years at New Prairie prior to transferring to LPHS.

The Blue Ribbon Commission consists of 47 people with some sort of tie to the education field from around Indiana, and their first task was to split in to small groups. Once the groups were together they listened to a presentation and discussed data they were given, such as an 18% drop in initial teacher licenses issued over the last five years. Not only are teachers harder to retain, they are harder to recruit.

“I am excited that Mr. Presley and a qualified group of educators are actively searching for ways to recruit our best and brightest back into the classrooms. I hope we can also find ways to keep our master teachers in schools,” Erin Parker, English teacher, said.

The groups also discussed working conditions and public perceptions of education. The long term goals of the Blue Ribbon Commission is not writing educational legislation. They are trying to inform legislators so they can write appropriate laws based on the information given.