May is National Educator Appreciation Month and to celebrate, we are shining a spotlight on some of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s many wonderful teachers and educators. Meet Halle Shine - a math teacher and leader at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. Prior to working at Indy Met, Halle was a special education teacher with Teach for America, an Americorp graduate and a math tutor. Halle is a graduate of Indiana University where she majored in Public Affairs and Environmental Management. 

How long have you been a teacher at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School, and what subject matter do you teach?

I have worked at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School for four years now. I have taught remedial math for the last four years, but next school year I will be teaching health and physical education.

Can you share a brief overview of your teaching experience?

A few months after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Environmental Management, I moved to Los Angeles, California to do an Americorps program called City Year. The following year, I moved to Chicago and completed a fellowship with a program called Saga where I served as a math tutor in a public high school. Following this program, I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and started Teach for America (TFA) where I was placed as a special education teacher at a high school. I graduated from the program in June 2020, earning my Master’s in Special Education from Alverno College. I decided to move closer to home (which is in Fort Wayne, IN) and got connected with Indy Met thanks to TFA Indianapolis. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in education, and how do you see yourself making a difference in the lives of your students?

I never planned to be a teacher; out of all the dream careers I had as a child, teaching was never one of them. I was part of a student organization in college called IU Outdoor Adventures (IUOA) where I started entertaining the idea of environmental education. Through this organization, I got trained to lead a variety of outdoor trips like backpacking, canoeing, white water rafting, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, etc. 

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing education today, and how do you envision addressing them in your role?

The biggest challenge facing education today is technology. While on one hand technology has advanced us forward, I see technology disrupt learning every day. Whether it's a cellphone, headphones, or off-task internet searches, technology has been a huge hindrance to learning. 

As a teacher, what do you consider to be the most important qualities of effective leadership in an educational setting?

This year in our staff professional development, we talked a lot about being a “warm demander.” I consider this quality to be most effective because it shows students that their teachers expect a lot from them (academically and behaviorally) while still being empathetic and nurturing to students. 

Tell us about Indy Met: How is it different from other high schools? 

Indy Met has a much smaller population than most schools in our area. Our ratio of Family Empowerment Coaches (similar, but slightly different than guidance counselors) is much smaller than a typical high school, which means students and their families get much more attention than the average high school student. We also have a very strong social-emotional learning department, which attracts students who might not have received necessary behavioral interventions and support at their previous schools.

Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations as an educational leader, and how do you plan to achieve them?

Next school year, I will be switching content areas from remedial math to wellness (health and physical education). I want to present students with material, guests, and experiences throughout the school year that will influence the decisions they make about their health. I hope to bring food education into my health class. I have applied to the Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship to connect me with other teachers in the area with similar passions.