Unite to improve Indiana education

To the editor: Guilty? In a July 14 editorial in The Commercial Review, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce is blamed for teacher shortages that are occurring in some Indiana school districts.
The Indiana chamber is accused of waging a war against public education. If that includes having an organizational mission that calls for providing “economic opportunity and prosperity for the people of Indiana” and an Indiana Vision 2025 plan that boasts outstanding talent as its most important driver — we are guilty.
In the editorial, the Indiana chamber’s support of vouchers and charter schools is linked to fewer young people wanting to become teachers. In this case, the math doesn’t add up. Teachers clamor for the opportunity to have the freedom to apply their skills and best serve their students, no matter the setting. If wanting to provide the best educational choices for students, parents and teachers is wrong — we are guilty.
If advocating for opening up alternative routes for persons holding professional degrees to shift careers and share their expertise by becoming teachers is viewed as war weaponry — we are guilty.
The editorial notes that “funding for public education hasn’t kept pace.” That requires a number of “ifs.” If supporting multiple state spending plans that provided additional funding for K-12 education (now more than 54 percent of the total state budget); if supporting merit-based pay for teachers so the most effective are rewarded based on their abilities and not just the seniority scale; and if supporting the reduction of administrative and overhead costs to drive more money into classrooms are deemed to be attacks — we are guilty.
If working to achieve full-day kindergarten and calling for the expansion of preschool opportunities for low-income families from a pilot program to statewide status are improper acts — we are guilty.
The editorial states that “a generation ago, teaching was viewed as one of the most valued and meaningful career paths a student could take.” That is absolutely correct. A generation ago, far fewer Hoosiers were going to college and teaching was a comparatively higher-paying job. The latter is not so today, and that is most unfortunate.
Teachers are the most critical factor in each student’s ability to obtain a quality education that allows them to become productive members of society. There is no doubt that more needs to be done to attract, retain and reward the best teachers.
“More” includes:
•Increasing starting pay for teachers to attract the best and brightest to the profession.
•Paying our best teachers more money.
•Directing more than the 57 percent (as of 2013) of every K-12 dollar that reaches the classroom.
•Providing meaningful feedback and professional development for all educators.
•Celebrating teaching successes and lifting up those who have the greatest classroom impact.
While teachers play that crucial role, discussions about public education need to focus on the students. Equal access to quality education and success in school for every child is the most important social justice issue of our time. That quality education is the surest way to break cycles of poverty, transform individual lives, lift up our communities and our state and attract the best employers and jobs.
Thousands of well-paying jobs are going unfilled today and our future ability to secure the best jobs relies on what we do now to provide educational opportunities for all. Every child, every school and every community benefits when all children are learning and succeeding.
Education is not about public versus private, unions versus politicians or even newspapers versus a chamber of commerce. It’s about parents, educators, communities and all others coming together and creating an expectation, opportunity and clear path to success for every child.
That should be the only “war” that is being waged — and the Indiana chamber is proud to help lead the way in that fight for the future of our children.
Kevin Brinegar
President and CEO
Indiana Chamber of Commerce