Talented People. Exceptional Educators.

To be considered for our program, you must:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree (conferred by June 1 of the year you are enrolling) with a GPA of 3.0 or higher from a regionally accredited institution; exceptions are often granted to candidates with at least a 2.50 GPA plus five years of relevant professional experience, or a graduate degree.
• Meet all legal eligibility requirements to work in the United States.
• Never have held an Indiana-issued Transition to Teaching permit. Indianapolis Teaching Fellows will consider candidates who have completed or enrolled in another alternative certification program but will likely be asked to provide a referral from the dean of your previous school.
• Not currently hold a professional teaching certificate from any state; conditional, emergency, substitute, and temporary certificates, and licenses expired for 3 or more years are acceptable.

Tuition and Fees

You are responsible for Marian University tuition and fees, which totals approximately $13,500 for the two-year program. You may be eligible to enroll in our TNTP AmeriCorps program and receive two consecutive education awards of $6,895 and will offset 100% of Marian tuition.

If you do not enroll with TNTP AmeriCorps, tuition is due at the beginning of each semester. If you are interested in pursuing a payment plan or loan, you must do so independently, as eligibility varies. If you have questions about Financial Aid, you should contact the Financial Aid Office at Marian University once you are enrolled. We strongly recommend all Fellows apply for FAFSA after they enter the program. 

Certification and District Hiring Costs

You are responsible for all costs associated with certification through the Indiana Department of Education, including fees for any required examinations and certification filing fees. In addition, Indiana requires all teachers to earn CPR certification and complete a suicide prevention training course (both must be from an IDOE approved provider). The state of Indiana does not require fingerprints for teachers, though you will be fingerprinted through either our university partner or summer school partner. Additionally, individual schools may request fingerprints as a part of their hiring process. You are responsible for costs associated with state or school hiring requirements. Altogether, these fees typically range between $300-$600.

Please refer to our detailed expense summary below for a comprehensive overview of costs associated with pre-service training, Marian University, licensure, and district hiring.

Note: All of the costs below are based on the current school year and are subject to annual increases.

Many external resources can help you manage the financial transition. We have listed a few below.

TNTP AmeriCorps Program

As an Indianapolis Teaching Fellow, you may be eligible to enroll in the TNTP AmeriCorps Program. AmeriCorps is a national network of service programs that connects more than 100,000 Americans each year to serve our country’s most critical needs in areas including environmental issues, disaster relief, and education.

Upon successfully completing their first year and second years of teaching in a high-need school, Fellows enrolled in the TNTP AmeriCorps Program may be eligible to receive up to $13,790 in education awards which can offset 100% of Marian University tuition.

• Two education awards of up to $7,395 totaling $14,790. Indianapolis Teaching Fellows are strongly encouraged to apply the awards to their tuition at Marian University, as the University offers the Masters in the Art of Teaching program at a significantly reduced cost.  AmeriCorps awards can be used for repayment of federal student loans and/or for future educational costs at schools that accept federal financial aid.
• Postponement of federal student loans repayment.  As an AmeriCorps member, you may be eligible to pause repayment of any outstanding federal student loans. That means you would not have to make any federal student loan payments during your year of service, and after successfully completing the year, AmeriCorps would repay any interest accrued during that time. Note that tuition and loan deferment is based on enrollment in TNTP AmeriCorps.

In addition to these financial benefits, AmeriCorps members receive special training that prepares them to incorporate service learning and volunteerism into their teaching, including opportunities to participate in special activities such as AmeriCorps Week and the Martin Luther King Day of Service in their local communities.

Participation in AmeriCorps is dependent on federal funding and the award size is subject to change annually. As a result, candidates will be notified as soon as eligibility is determined, most likely at pre-service training.

Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLFP)

To qualify for loan forgiveness for a federal loan, you must work for five consecutive years in a qualifying Title I school. You also must meet the standard to be considered as “highly qualified” for all five years of service (through degree and required teacher tests). You must not have an outstanding balance on direct loans or FFEL loans as of October 1, 1998, or you must have obtained those loans after October 1, 1998. You cannot be in default on a subsidized or unsubsidized loan, unless you have made “satisfactory repayments.” The loan for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made within the five years of teaching. All secondary math, secondary science and special education teachers are eligible for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness. All other teachers are eligible for up to $5,000.

Qualifying Loans: Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans

• Read more about the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program on the Trellis Company website.
• Apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness through the Federal Student Aid website.

Loan Consolidation

A Direct Consolidation Loan allows you to consolidate (or combine) multiple federal education loans into one loan. The result is a single monthly payment instead of multiple payments. A Direct Consolidation Loan for federal loans has a fixed interest rate based on the weighted average of the loans being consolidated.

In order to qualify, you must have at least one Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan that is in a grace period or in repayment. If you want to consolidate a defaulted loan, you must either make satisfactory repayment arrangements on the loan with your current loan servicer before you consolidate, or you must agree to repay your new Direct Consolidation Loan under the Income-Based Repayment Plan, Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan, or Income-Contingent Repayment Plan.

Repayment plans can range from 10 to 30 years, based on the amount being consolidated, other education debt and the selected repayment plan. Repayment can begin in 60 days or sooner.

Eligible Loan Types:

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• PLUS loans from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program
• Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS)
• Federal Perkins Loans
• Federal Nursing Loans
• Health Education Assistance Loans

To learn more about loan consolidation and to apply, visit the Direct Consolidations Loan website or the Student Loans website.

Short-Term Healthcare

You may require short-term health care as you transition out of school or your current job. When choosing your short-term health care, be sure to inquire if your plan meets Minimum Essential Coverage requirements. If not, you may be required to pay a tax penalty.

Affordable Health Care
Though this is not considered short-term health care, you may enroll in a plan now and update or cancel the care once you are hired as a full-time teacher. Contact a healthcare.gov representative (1-800-318-2596) and report this “life event.” Coverage varies by state, and a variety of plans are available. While open enrollment is closed for 2014, visit www.healthcare.gov to see if you qualify for “Special Enrollment.”

eHealth
A variety of plans are available. You can arrange to pay on a monthly basis, and select a six-month or 11-month plan. You may also select to pay up front for a 30-day or one-month plan. Prices range from $35 to more than $100 per month, depending on the individual. Coverage begins the very next day when enrolling in this plan.

Sallie Mae

This plan offers coverage with a maximum of six to 11 months. It offers a $50 co-pay for urgent care with multiple plan options.

COBRA
If you are leaving a job that provided health insurance, you may want to enroll in COBRA. This would allow the previous health insurance to remain in effect for up to 18 months after employment is terminated. COBRA is typically a more expensive option, usually costing several hundred per month.

Temporarily Add-on to a Family Member’s Plan

Another option could always be to add on to the insurance of a family member or significant other. If you are 26 or under, you are eligible to be covered under a parent’s insurance plan. Rules regarding family and significant others vary by insurance policy.

Personal Loans

There are many options for personal loans. These are loans from banks or another source that have a fixed payment schedule and can be used to fund anything desired, including living costs, health care or education costs. You are given a lump sum of money up front, and you will be required to make monthly payments. Eligibility requirements vary by provider, but most also require a credit check.

Personal loan providers:

SoFi
Lending Tree
Wells Fargo
TD Bank 
USAA

Home Equity Loans

Through a home equity loan you may borrow a lump sum of money and use home ownership as collateral. A credit check is required, and most lenders require moderate to good credit ratings. Home equity loans tend to have lower interest rates than many other loans. Also, interest rates can be fixed, so there is no need to worry about increases. These loans allow flexibility for spending and they can be used in any way in which the borrower chooses.

Research where you can find the best rates on home equity loans in your area at Lending Tree or Bankrate.com. These companies will compare rates at banks in your area, and you can select the lowest rate.

Grants and Crowdfunding

The NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation’s $2,000 Learning and Leadership Grant can be used to pay for an individual Fellow’s professional development programs, like TNTP Academy. Grants are only available to Fellows who will not receive a master’s degree. Deadlines for grant applications are February 1, June 1 and October 1. Fellows must independently complete their grant application.

Go Fund Me
Ask your community to help you make the transition. Some of our Fellows have used crowdfunding on platforms such as Go Fund Me, a personal fundraising site to “crowd-source” personal expenses. You set up the page and friends and family make small donations on a secure site. The money you raise is deposited directly into your bank account. Go Fund Me charges 7.9 percent of your total donation + $0.30.

Amazon Wish Lists
Create a wish list on Amazon.com and send it out to family, friends, former colleagues, and professional networks. This is a great way to start setting up a classroom reading library, or getting basic supplies like Expo markers, poster paper or cleaning supplies.

DonorsChoose.org
Once you enter the classroom, Donors Choose is a way to “crowd-source” funding for classroom projects and expenses. You are able to post projects for your classroom and individuals can donate. Projects can range from paper and pencils to iPads and projectors. Materials are shipped directly to your school. Any donations made are tax deductible. There is no cost to donors or teachers.

We recruit for high demand subject areas. This allows us to provide partner schools with the teachers they need the most and also provides more options for you to find a teaching job.

The first step in the application process is to submit an online application. You will indicate your program and subject area preferences and share basic information about your background and experiences. We ask several questions about your college education, such as GPA and credit hours, so you might find it helpful to have your transcripts available. You will also respond to a hypothetical scenarios that a first-year teacher might experience.

We’re not looking for a “right” answer so don’t sweat it! We don’t expect candidates to have in-depth knowledge of education issues or teaching strategies when applying; that is why we have a rigorous training program. Simply draw on your critical thinking and other transferable skills to briefly explain how you might approach the situation. Our students come from diverse backgrounds and experiences and we’re looking for the same in our Fellows.

Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis, so apply early to increase your chance of admission to your first-choice program and subject area.

Once you successfully complete the selection process, you’ll receive an official offer to enroll. Offers are extended on a rolling basis. Upon accepting an offer to enroll, you will be prompted to complete a series of enrollment tasks.

As one of your enrollment tasks, Indianapolis Teaching Fellows candidates will be required to apply to the ITF-MAT program by May 1st. Only candidates admitted to Marian University will remain eligible for Indianapolis Teaching Fellows program.

After you complete your tasks, you will connect with your assigned program staff to begin preparing for summer training.

Once enrolled, you’ll receive guidance on completing mandatory state exams in your subject area, which you must pass before training starts. Test dates are limited and the exams may be challenging to pass. We encourage you to register and complete your required exams as early as possible.

Before pre-service training (PST), you will build your foundational knowledge about the teaching profession through online coursework. You will complete self-guided enrollment modules, which include reading, videos, guided reflection, and an assessment at the end.

You’ll begin your commitment with a rigorous six-week pre-service training starting program centered on field experience. Training will start June 1st* ending July 15th* (*tentative). You will study proven teaching techniques and begin to develop the in-depth content knowledge that great teachers use every day to advance student learning. You can expect to practice these techniques intensively, both with peers and with real students in summer school classrooms. Rather than overwhelming you with training that is a mile wide but an inch deep, we focus first on deeply understanding ourselves as individuals and leaders who will be teaching students that may or may not have cultural values and beliefs that are different than our own, then move to ensure each Fellows’ mastery of four foundational teaching skills before shifting to more advanced practices.

There are three main elements to summer training:

• Skill Building Sessions – During skill building sessions, program instructors teach foundational skills such as lesson planning and delivery, classroom management techniques and content specific strategies.
• Field Experience – Field experience is time spent teaching in a summer school classroom. Fellows typically observe a mentor teacher in action and gradually take on responsibility delivering instruction for students in the class. Program coaches visit the classroom regularly to provide real-time feedback and support.
• Responsive Coaching Sessions – In these small group sessions, Fellows practice and receive coaching on targeted skills.

Outstanding local teachers will prepare you to confidently manage your classroom, and support your students in building bridges between challenging academic content and their own unique values and experiences. You must demonstrate emerging proficiency in these fundamental skills by the end of pre-service training to earn teaching eligibility for the fall

Pre-service training is a full-time commitment with sessions five days per week. Marian University typically offers dormitory housing at a reduced rate throughout the course of pre-service training for Fellows who are in the process of relocating to the area. Please contact the Program Manager for more information.

Beginning in pre-service training and continuing at least through your first year, your Indianapolis Teaching Fellows coach will be your most critical line of support as you apply lessons from training sessions with students in your classroom. All coaches are experienced, local teachers with a track record of raising achievement in challenging classrooms. They will train you like a pro athlete, with ample opportunity to practice, reflect and improve, until essential teaching techniques and mindsets become second nature.

Our coaches will observe you regularly in your classroom, providing real-time guidance to improve your teaching. After each observation, you will meet to debrief and discuss concrete strategies you can apply in future lessons. Coaches will also pull you into small skill-building sessions to address your high-priority development needs. In some cases, virtual coaching may be used to coach fellows during their first year of teaching.  Virtual coaching is determined on a case by case basis for each fellow based on performance factors and fellow needs.

Our desire is to help you develop the skills to identify opportunities for growth in your teaching practice. Whether working through lesson planning or striving to improve your classroom management skills, your coach will focus their expertise on helping you quickly get up to speed in that area. This rich feedback and personalized support will help you grow quickly into an amazing teacher.

During Year 2, you will continue to grow as a teacher under the guidance of a Marian coach who will use similar strategies and expertise as ITF coaches.

During your first two years as a full-time teacher, you will also complete certification coursework through our partnership with Marian University , where you will earn a Master of Arts in Teaching through the Master of Arts in Teaching (ITF-MAT) program, which provides you a Transition to Teaching Permit (T2T). The ITF-MAT program is specifically designed to meet the needs of alternate route teachers; in fact, Indianapolis Teaching Fellows are the only participants.

In addition to meeting for classes 1-2 evenings per week and/or some Saturdays, throughout the two year program at Marian, in year two Fellows are paired with a supervisor from the Marian University faculty, to monitor your performance and customize training to address your individual development needs. If you successfully complete all program requirements, pass all content exams, and meet our high performance standards, you will be eligible to apply for a professional teaching license in Indiana at the end of your second year in the classroom.

A typical teaching day lasts about eight to nine hours, with classes starting around 8:00 am. In addition, all teachers spend time preparing lessons, reviewing student work, attending meetings, or supervising extracurricular activities, often beyond the teaching day. Balancing these priorities with certification coursework is demanding, but your classroom-centered training and our support will help you rise to the challenge.

TNTP’s Teaching Fellows programs hold high standards for certification and our teachers are widely recognized for their ability to help high-need students make dramatic learning gains.

We use the Assessment of Classroom Effectiveness (ACE) to ensure that you remain on track to become a great teacher. ACE incorporates a wide variety of evidence from your classroom to create the fullest possible picture of your performance. ACE will incorporate observation scores, principal feedback, and student survey data into a final score for performance.  ACE is also designed to help you grow – providing regular feedback about your strengths and weaknesses and enabling us to customize coaching and coursework to address your high-priority development needs.

At the end of the summer training, and again at the end of your first year, you must meet ACE performance standards to earn certification. By setting a high bar and helping you exceed it, we ensure that you are capable of getting real results for students. And as a graduate of our program, principals and district officials will know that you are not simply a certified teacher, but one with a proven track record in the classroom.

Teachers are more successful when they work in a school that is a good fit for them. As a Teaching Fellow, you will be responsible for leading your own job search to ensure that both you and your principal feel good about the match. While our staff will offer resources and guidance, all hiring decisions are ultimately made by principals or school-based administrators. We do not place Teaching Fellows in a school. Instead, you should expect to conduct a personal job search, including attending at least one day-long site visit and hiring event in Indianapolis in the spring.

Though your job search is your own, you’re not alone. Indianapolis Teaching Fellows staff will help you navigate the district hiring process, showing you how to find vacancies and occasionally coordinating interviews with principals. In addition, our team will host several school hiring events, review resumes, manage an online resume look book for school leaders and hold mock interviews for those interested in receiving interview practice.

While admission to Indianapolis Teaching Fellows does not guarantee a teaching position, the need for quality teachers in critical-shortage subjects remains high.

Once hired, you will be a full-time employee of the school district or charter school where you work, earning the same starting salary as any other first-year teacher in your school. The average beginning teacher salary working in an Indianapolis partner school is currently $50,400; those placed in a STEM, ESL or Special Education subject area may be eligible for supplemental pay.

You will also be able to access the same comprehensive benefits as all new teachers in your district or charter network, typically including medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage. Detailed information about current salary schedules and available benefits for teachers is available on district or charter websites or through their Human Resources office.

Upon graduating, you will be invited to join the TNTP Teaching Fellows Alumni Network. As a member of our alumni community, you will receive a regular newsletter with links to valuable professional development and career opportunities. More importantly, you’ll be able to connect with more than 33,000 Fellows across the country to share resources, talk through challenges, and discuss important education issues affecting classrooms like yours.