At Inspire Academy, Misty’s work centers on helping students find their confidence and curiosity through project-based learning.
%20(2).png)
When Inspire Academy teacher Misty White got the news she’d been selected as a Teach Plus Indiana Policy Fellow, she could hardly contain her excitement. The honor felt like both recognition and responsibility, a chance to use her classroom experience to shape policies that affect teachers and students across Indiana.
For Misty, who teaches in Muncie, Indiana, this fellowship isn’t about stepping away from the classroom. It’s about bringing the classroom to the conversation, ensuring that those who make decisions about schools hear directly from the people working inside them every day.
“It’s reaffirming,” she shared. “To have professionals believe that my voice can make things better for educators and students across the state — that means everything.”
Muncie is a city with one of the most diverse education landscapes in Indiana. Within just a few miles, families can choose from traditional district, private, public charter, and laboratory schools. That variety gives families meaningful options, and gives teachers like Misty a front-row seat to what’s working and what’s not.
She sees her fellowship as a way to represent all educators in her community, no matter where they teach. “We have a range of school models in Muncie, but our goals are the same,” she says. “We all want students to thrive.”
At Inspire Academy, Misty’s work centers on helping students find their confidence and curiosity through project-based learning. The school, a public charter school, is built around the belief that learning happens best through doing.
Students explore real-world problems, collaborate across grade levels, and connect what they learn to their lives and communities. Teachers are trusted to design lessons that spark discovery and Misty thrives in that freedom.
“Inspire is a place where educators are encouraged to be creative,” she says. “We’re always asking, How can we make learning meaningful? That mindset keeps me motivated and reminds me why I love teaching.”
It’s also what makes Inspire a powerful example of how Indiana’s public charter schools can serve families in ways that fit their students’ needs, blending hands-on learning with strong community ties.
Misty knows how closely classroom realities are tied to policy decisions from funding and testing to teacher preparation and support. Through Teach Plus, she hopes to help close the gap between policymakers and practitioners.
She’s especially focused on strengthening teacher pipelines and ensuring new educators, particularly those entering through alternative pathways, receive strong mentorship and preparation. “It’s not enough to care deeply about students,” she says. “We also need to be equipped with the tools and training to reach them effectively.”
Her goal is to elevate solutions that make the profession stronger, things like equitable pay, professional development, leadership pathways, and retention supports. In Misty’s view, investing in teachers is one of the best ways to improve outcomes for every child.
Misty’s path into education started at home. When schools closed during the pandemic, she took the reins on her children’s learning and discovered both a love for teaching and an urgent need in her community.
She went back to graduate school, earned her teaching license, and stepped into the classroom at Inspire Academy. What she found was both rewarding and humbling, a reminder that teaching well requires both heart and science.
Now, five years later, she’s using her voice to make that journey smoother for others. “Transitioning educators like me need pathways that are accessible and practical,” she explains. “That’s what drew me to Teach Plus. It's about advocacy rooted in lived experience.”
For other educators who want to grow as leaders, Misty offers simple advice: treat yourself the way you treat your students. “Teachers don’t wait for what their students need,” she says. “They make it happen. We deserve the same care for ourselves.”
She encourages teachers to pursue opportunities, advocate for their growth, and trust that their voices matter. “When we invest in ourselves,” she adds, “we make schools stronger for everyone.”
At the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, we believe educators like Misty White show what’s possible when teachers lead change — in their classrooms, their communities, and across the state.
Her journey from parent to teacher to policy fellow reflects what makes Indiana’s public charter landscape so powerful: educators who see what their students need, and act boldly to make it happen.
Congratulations, Misty and thank you for lifting teacher voices statewide.
