INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Public School students are soaking up the final hours of summer break before heading back to the classroom for the first day.
Teachers like Corey Jones have been back in the classroom for a couple weeks now and are ready to welcome a new challenge.
"I can't wait to see the new students. I can't wait to feel the energy," said Jones, who's starting his second year teaching at KIPP Indy, though the first with a class of his own. "I never had a Black male teacher, that's something I've never had, so now I'm able to be that consistency in some of our children's lives and just be a role model."
Jones will teach sixth grade English and language arts at the public charter school in the historic Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood on Indianapolis' near northeast side.
School leaders say finding teachers that not only reflect the students who live there, but keeping them in the classroom, is a priority that has proven successful.
"As a network, we have over 87% retention, at some spaces we are at over 90%, which is just incredible for what that means for our students and families," head of schools Casey McLeod said.
Indiana has historically ranked among the lowest states for teacher recruitment and retention.
Part of KIPP Indy's approach is pairing newer teachers like Jones with veteran educators to "co-teach" students.
"What an opportunity to learn from the best, develop and then create that next pipeline of educators for our students," McLeod said.
While teacher turnover is no doubt a big concern in the classroom, Jones said he aims to teach skills beyond just his English curriculum.
"Part of the reason I come back every day is because I want to be a consistent person in the children's lives," Jones said. "I think that it's important that as a young man, I show them professionalism."
Students at KIPP Indy head back Monday, July 31, along with the rest of Indianapolis Public Schools.