Ivy Tech Community College has 19 campuses around Indiana, and each one submits a nomination for the President’s Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction.
Robin Perry, who is in her first year as a business education teacher at Seymour High School, was among the dual credit instructors in the six-county region of the Ivy Tech Columbus campus up for the honor and ultimately was selected as the winner.
Now, she’s among the 19 nominees for the 2023 Statewide Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction, which will be presented for the second year in a row to honor Ivy Tech’s most outstanding dual credit instructor statewide. That will be announced during a recognition ceremony June 14 at Garment Factory in Franklin.
“I appreciate it so much. I was shocked when I got that email. I read it a few times,” Perry said, smiling, referring to a letter she received via email from Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann. “I know there are a ton of excellent teachers out there, and I’m honored.”
Perry was nominated for the award by Donna Zeh, department chair for business and accounting at Ivy Tech Columbus.
Zeh supervises all of the business dual credit instructors in Jackson, Jennings, Decatur, Bartholomew, Shelby and Johnson counties, and in the fall of 2022, she conducted site visits. That involved visiting with the instructors, talking to their students about Ivy Tech and observing their classes. She then completed a report sharing what she observed.
Zeh said she was most impressed with a city project that was in the works in Perry’s classroom. Perry was inspired by a city project conducted by Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Denise Leigh, and it has been a yearlong project with multiple classes at SHS and should wrap up soon.
“I was very impressed, took some pictures of it, took it back and then I was asked if there was anybody that I would like to nominate (for the dual credit award), and so she was the first one that came to mind with her innovative ideas,” Zeh said of Perry.
Zeh had previously worked with Perry when she was a business teacher at Brownstown Central High School, where she began teaching dual credit classes in 2007.
Perry said she already had the degree credentials at the time to teach dual credit courses.
“Then I also added a vocational license later, so just anything that I can add to make it better for the school, better for the kids,” she said. “They can get college credit. I’ve had so many kids come back and tell me ‘I got so many dual credits from taking your classes,’ and it’s just rewarding to hear that back from kids.”
At SHS, the dual credit courses she teaches are business management, digital applications 1 and digital applications 2. In the latter courses, students can earn Microsoft certifications in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
“We can add Excel Expert and we can customize the class to what the student needs, and that’s where I’m at now,” Perry said. “I’ve got kids that we went through together Excel and Outlook now branching out. … Having that industry credential is so good. I’ve had students get jobs with that, and if you look in the want ads or on Indeed, you see that they need to have familiarity with Microsoft Excel, Word. They’ll list it, so that’s something that they can have and we can provide.”
Zeh said in most businesses, having a background in Microsoft products is beneficial.
“If you’re going into business or any job that you’re going to be doing any kind of office work, those kinds of skills are extremely helpful, and to be credentialed in it will get you the job,” she said.
So far this school year, Perry said more than 50 certifications have been obtained by SHS students. Principal Greg Prange said those can be helpful with “filling these buckets” for graduation, too.
The dual credits can be transferred to any Indiana college or university, and he said SHS offers around 120 credits in nearly 40 classes, which are free for students.
Zeh said each class would cost $400 to $500 if taken after high school.
“If they are ready to take them (while in high school) and they have teachers that can help get them through it, then it is a no-brainer because they are going to save themselves money,” she said.
At SHS, Perry also helps Cathy Reasoner teach work-based learning and is part of the first state-certified Innovate WithIN Educator Fellowship.
Of all of the dual credit teachers across all disciplines in the Ivy Tech Columbus region, Perry was chosen for the President’s Award honor. Along with receiving the email from Ellspermann, Perry recently was surprised by Zeh visiting SHS to present her a framed certificate.
During that presentation, Prange said the honor is “very well deserved.” Over the years, he said he heard about all of the things Perry was doing at Brownstown.
“We had an opening in the business department, and my staff from upstairs buzzed down ‘I know who we want.’ They helped do some recruiting. We’re very, very happy and very proud to have Mrs. Perry with us now,” Prange said.
“And I’m very proud to be here,” Perry said. “I’m thrilled. I love it.”