Second-career teachers like jobs; state is hoping for more of them

The 36-year-old Frankton native was an engineering technician working on product design and development with Helmer Scientific at the time.

At one point during the weeklong trip, Fisher was assigned to work with two boys and decided to pass the time playing Snakes and Ladders.

Fisher spoke only English; the boys only Ukrainian, and there was no interpreter in the room.

Despite that communication barrier, they made a connection.

“We started drawing pictures on the board to talk to each other and I was, like, if I can communicate with these guys and reach them on this level, I could have a better impact with my life by working with kids,” said Fisher who now teaches advanced math at Frankton Jr./Sr. High School.

His decision to change careers and earn a teaching credential is one of the strategies identified to address Indiana’s teacher shortage in the final report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Recruitment and Retention of Excellent Educators, which Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz released last week.

“With fewer individuals entering the education profession and remaining in the profession long-term, it is critical that Indiana implement the strategies developed by the Blue Ribbon Commission,” Ritz said in a statement.

Ritz created the commission last year in response to data that showed a more than 30 percent decline in the number of individuals receiving initial practitioner teaching licenses.

After his I-should-be-teaching discovery, Fisher enrolled at Anderson University, earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, and then entered its 10-month Transition to Teaching program.

He studied engineering at Purdue University after graduating from Frankton in 1997, but left before graduation to work at Helmer.

Fisher seems naturally suited to the classroom. Students refer to him by his last name, or simply as “Fish.”

A class in finite math crackled with energy Friday as he peppered students with difficult problems related to finance and interest rates using complex formulas in preparation for a test on Monday.

Students appreciate his humor, his commitment to learning and his effort to make the material interesting and fun.

“He makes it fun, but also knows that everyone struggles at times,” said Jon Irwin, a senior. “He doesn’t move on to the next lesson until everyone knows it. He doesn’t want to leave anyone behind.”

Like Fisher, Chris Hatzell, 42, is a hometown boy who wanted a career where he could make an impact on kids.

The 1992 Frankton graduate also attended Purdue University for two years before going to work for F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. in Indianapolis and later Eli Lilly.

Both jobs paid well, Hatzell said, but they weren’t satisfying.

In 2013, he quit his job and began taking classes at Indiana University Kokomo and later Indiana University East in Richmond.

Although his teacher license is in social studies, Hatzell currently teaches business math, economics, citizenship and accounting at Frankton. He hopes to return to his specialty in a couple of years.

“I think what’s most important to me is to be in the classroom interacting with kids, being part of the school,” Hatzell said. “I took a significant pay cut to come do this. But when you reach a certain age ... what’s most important is to be happy and have a career that makes you feel fulfilled and good.

“There are days that are tough ... where you feel frustrated or where things don’t go well, but by and large, it’s really just a great fit for me with my personality and where I’m at in my life. I’m really glad I made the transition,” Hatzell said.

So is Greg Granger, Frankton’s principal.

He appreciates the work experience, maturity and passion both men bring to the classroom.

“You don’t change careers at that age without having a passion for teaching kids,” Granger said.

It isn’t clear, however, how many people there are like Fisher and Hatzell, who are willing to change careers and become classroom teachers.

AU’s Transition to Teaching program, which was created in 2001, has maintained a steady enrollment of about 20 students per year, said Jan Fulkerson, dean of the School of Education.

Other university programs have withered, and the number of students completing transfer to teaching programs in Indiana has steadily declined since the 2008-09 school year, according to data compiled by the Indiana Department of Education.

Ball State University’s program, for example, currently has no enrolled students and is being redesigned to meet the needs of working people, said John Jacobson, the dean of Teachers College.

“We feel that an online program model would better meet the needs of working Hoosiers that want to pursue teaching,” Jacobson said.

Fisher, meanwhile, said he has no regrets about his decision to move from engineering to the classroom.

“I plan on doing this until I can’t do it anymore,” he said.