Indiana

Across Indiana, teacher leadership and opportunities for teacher collaboration are strengthening classroom instruction and improving student outcomes. NIET’s partners in the state have proven the impact of a distributed leadership model that allows teacher leaders to provide individualized coaching and feedback. State policies and philanthropic funding help to scale this work, enabling districts to provide high-quality support for both veteran and novice teachers.

Indiana Finds Success with Strategies to Improve Instruction

In Indiana, the impact of teacher capacity building and leadership work led by NIET and district partners is creating career advancement opportunities, retaining effective educators, and supporting new teachers. NIET works with a broad range of rural, urban, suburban, public, charter, and private school systems in the state. In each case, elevating teachers into leadership roles as part of a strategic staffing and compensation system is a core strategy for success.

Investing in Teacher Leadership Improves Coaching for Teachers

State policies in Indiana support mentoring and coaching for new teachers. Recent revisions to the Teacher Appreciation Grant provide funding for teacher leadership and mentoring while also offering additional compensation to teachers serving in shortage areas and demonstrating instructional effectiveness. By providing districts with funding for teacher leadership roles, the state is building a powerful cadre of teacher leaders to drive improvement in their schools and help experienced and new teachers take their practice to the next level.

Instructional Leadership Teams Create Coherence and Focus

In NIET’s partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools, the focus is on strengthening Instructional Leadership Teams at the school and district levels. In several high schools, district and school leaders work to connect district-level priorities to systems of support in schools and classrooms. As leaders build coherence across all levels of the system, teachers are able to focus on clear goals and strategies. This comprehensive approach is helping to drive historic gains in graduation rates, which reached 93% in 2025.

At the elementary level, NIET formed a multiyear collaboration with Indianapolis Public Schools’ elementary school leaders with funding from the Lilly Endowment Marion County K-12 Public Schools Initiative. The partnership provides training on high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), beginning with unit and lesson preparation and providing elementary principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and district leaders a shared foundation for strengthening instruction across campuses.

Nettle Creek Thrives With a Collaborative Culture

At Nettle Creek Schools, half of the roughly 1,000 students qualify for free and reduced lunch. The tight-knit school community, which is spread across two campuses, strives to be known for “exceptional teachers, empowered learners, and a culture of unrivaled support.” To meet this vision, Nettle Creek has partnered with NIET for the past five years.

Nettle Creek started its partnership with NIET by introducing distributed leadership through Instructional Leadership Teams and teacher leadership positions, and by adopting the NIET Teaching and Learning Standards. From the beginning, district leaders have modeled being data-driven and focused on measurable goals, creating a culture of collaborative leadership.

The results of Nettle Creek’s efforts to strengthen instruction are evident. As Indiana has prioritized literacy, Nettle Creek's proficiency on the state’s third grade IREAD assessment rose from 86% in 2024 to almost 95% in 2025. Nettle Creek leaders remain committed to the best practices that will allow them to continue raising the bar for their students and the community.