Loan program aims to lure key teachers to urban schools

INDIANAPOLIS -- Efforts to draw teachers to critical math, science and special education jobs in Indiana's poorest schools could get a boost from a new loan forgiveness program.\nBut many teachers say they are unaware of the benefit, which President Bush signed into law in October.\nThe Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act grants up to $17,500 in loan relief to those who teach math, science or special education in Title I schools for five years. Previously, qualified teachers in any subject could receive $5,000 in relief for teaching in a Title I school.\nRoss Wiener, policy director for the Education Trust, a California-based nonprofit organization focused on improving public schools, said the program could be a boon to low-income schools, many of which struggle to find and retain good teachers.\nMath, science and special education slots can be difficult to fill regardless of a school's socioeconomic status. According to a 2004 study by the American Association for Employment in Education, there were critical shortages nationwide for teachers of math, physics and several special education specialties.\n"A critical shortage means if there is an opening, it will be very difficult to fill with a fully certified, highly qualified person," said B.J. Bryant, executive director of the association.\nThe Great Lakes region, which includes Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, saw critical shortages of physics and special education teachers.\nBut Title I schools can find it more difficult to fill positions because urban schools are often viewed as less attractive, educators say.\nWiener said more education graduates might look to Title I schools if they were aware of the loan reimbursement program.\n"It is inexplicable why (the Department of Education) has not done a public campaign," he said.\nSally L. Stroup, assistant secretary for postsecondary education with the U.S. Department of Education, said awareness of the program is low because the program is still new.\nShe said students can learn about the program through their lenders' Web sites and their promissory notes. The Department of Education also has information available on its Web site.\nThe forgiveness program applies to loans obtained after Oct. 1, 1998, but before Oct. 1, 2005, according to the DOE site. Teachers must be "highly qualified" as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act and have completed five years in a Title I school to apply for relief.\nThe loan relief program could help urban districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, which has 55 of the state's roughly 800 Title I schools. Superintendent Pat Pritchett said getting teachers for math, science and special education has always been an issue for the state's largest district.\nMany math and science candidates often opt for better-paying jobs outside the classroom, said Linda Casey, principal at the district's H.L. Harshman Middle School. Special education teachers, she noted, face a high burnout rate.\nWhen Casey started at Harshman four years ago, there were 23 vacancies, many because teachers were leaving for township schools. Now there are none.\nCasey attributes the turnaround in part to helping candidates understand what it is like to teach in an urban setting.\n"It has to be about relationships," she said. "It can't be because you love your subject matter. Our kids don't care about that."\nSeveral Harshman teachers, whose loan amounts range from nearly $30,000 to more than $70,000, said the increased loan forgiveness would help, but it's not why they went into a Title I school.\nNick Neureiter, a science teacher who has been with the school two years, has loans totaling about $42,000. But he doesn't care about the incentives.\n"I'm here because I choose to be," he said. "I love the kids. You just can't work here if you don't love the kids"