Class size and pay topped the questions many eager teaching candidates asked representatives from local school districts Friday at the Indiana University Northwest School of Education’s teacher recruitment fair at its Gary campus.
Gary human resources director Jovanka Cvitkovich said candidates also asked about district support as they navigate their first year of teaching.
IU-Northwest senior Nathan Mayersky, of Lowell, hopes to be in a classroom in the fall. He’s now a student teacher at Hanover Central High School where he’s teaching sophomore English.
Student teaching didn’t carry too many surprises.
“It’s kind of exactly what I expected. It’s hard work and a lot of work but it’s fulfilling too and it’s fun to make those interpersonal relationships with students… and see them grow.”
Indiana, like other states, is battling a teacher shortage. The Department of Education’s educator job board this week listed 1,179 openings at 974 schools.
Last year, lawmakers on an interim study committee on fiscal policy learned from the Legislative Services Agency that the state’s median teacher salary was $60,100 in 2025.
Adjusted for inflation, median wages for teachers have declined since 2020 even though average salaries rose about 4% from 2024 to 2025.
Joel Hand, a lobbyist for the Indiana Federation of Teachers, told the committee Indiana teacher salaries were below neighboring states.
He said Indiana ranks 39th in the country, according to the National Education Association.
IUN senior Emily Bahl, of Crown Point, will be able to teach elementary and special education students with her degree.
She’s aware her chances are good of landing a job teaching special education due to a shortage in that field.
Bahl, who always wanted to teach, said she asked recruiters about pay and class size, along with available opportunities.
“I’ll just really go wherever I can get a job at this point,” she said.
Samantha Evans, of Hobart, is looking for a job teaching math, she said. She’s a 2023 Chesterton graduate.
“I was just kind of going around seeing what they have to offer,” said Evans, who’s a student teacher in an upper algebra course at Portage High School.
“It’s definitely harder than I thought it was going to be,” she said. She said it can be stressful but hasn’t changed her mind about joining the profession.
“I just like seeing that I can affect others. It’s crazy… they tell you that all the time. And it’s like, wow, we really have an effect on those kids,” she said.
“If you really connect with your students, then get them to understand that you’re coming from a place where you want them to succeed, they’ll try their hardest in your class,” she said.
Cvitkovich said midway through the fair she had four viable job candidates in special education, elementary, science and math.
Her candidates didn’t focus too much on salary, she said.
“Do you know what all of them said? ‘I want to feel supported,’ so that’s what I’m really emphasizing today,” she said.
Cvitkovich told the candidates Gary has instructional coaches in each school, but also has organized professional development districtwide.
Gary is offering a $10,000 signing bonus for some math, science and special education teachers.
Gary had been shoring up its teacher shortage by using instructors on emergency permits but this year the administration wanted licensed teachers in each classroom.
When it couldn’t find enough teachers, the district partnered with Proximity to provide 14 licensed online teachers. That number is down to nine now after five in-class teachers were hired, she said.
New IUN Chancellor Arrick Jackson stopped by the fair, calling it “an excellent opportunity for our students.”
He said there’s a great need for teachers in Northwest Indiana.
To stem the teacher shortage, Jackson said it’s important to engage students early in high school. He said he developed cadet teaching programs in other universities, and the students gained college credit hours for participation.
He said the sooner students are engaged, the sooner they develop a passion for teaching.
“Getting them early, getting them engaged and connected with professionals and mentoring them through that process will help close the gap,” he said.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.
