Amanda McCammon was recruited as the K-12 Outreach Director for Women & Hi Tech due to her passion for improving Indiana’s educational ecosystem, especially STEM education. Over 15 years working on the front lines of education, she taught multiple subjects, worked as a building administrator, student services director, assistant superintendent, and beyond. Eventually McCammon found herself in the rare position of appreciating the whole spectrum of education. “From high income to low, working in rural, urban, and suburban areas, I have served families all over the State of Indiana,” she said. And what this experience showed her was unsurprising—school systems need help.
“Schools today are serving youth and families in every aspect imaginable, emotional, social, safety, and food needs. For many families the school is the end-all, be-all of the support they receive. After some time in the field, you start to see it truly is more about human services than just education services.”
In 2017, McCammon joined the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) as Chief of Workforce & STEM Alliances. “I facilitated the work of the STEM council responsible for authoring Indiana’s 6-year STEM strategic plan, which was developed to amplify and align STEM education efforts across the state.” She said one of the most exciting things to come out of this experience was a better understanding across the state of how Indiana defines STEM. “Everyone has had their own definition of STEM. But now at the state level, STEM education means teaching real-world problem solving and analytical and critical thinking skills, often through project-based learning.” McCammon said that this insight is of essential value to her role helping Women & Hi Tech achieve more impact at the K-12 level. “We have to make sure our members’ time, treasures, and talents are contributing to initiatives that actually meet the needs of both formal and informal educators across all areas of our state.”
McCammon added that the legislation around education is always changing, and one of the biggest barriers for many schools is the ability to understand how and why changes impact their classroom and their community. “What drove me to step out and become an educational consultant was seeing a lack of capacity, not because of talent, but because of the sheer amount of work that is asked of both formal and informal educators.” Amanda said every legislative session seems to add more work to an already full plate. Whether it’s new mandates for educators to teach about employability skills, work to develop a workforce pipeline, or changes in assessment or accountability, these impact multiple levels across the educational system. “Even when a bill is a good thing in the big picture, it’s not always a priority to communicate and connect the dots all the way down through the district, to the building, to the classroom, and to our families. It’s essential to make them see not only why the change happened, but the goal we will achieve with it as a State. Educators must be included in these conversations and decisions.”
Leaving the employment of the State, McCammon realized this put her back in a position to have critical conversations with people at the ground level. So, she started her own consulting business, Ingenuity, LLC. “Working for the State, you represent the larger voice of state government, but as a consultant, you can take that knowledge and go directly into a school to help them connect the dots between theory and practice in a way that makes sense for them and their families.” This especially applies to helping educators in the field understand current legislation and the potential effects of coming changes. “Historically, we have relied on memorization and checking off boxes on a list of requirements to prove the quality of our education. We need to consider the practices and abilities we need to embed into our teaching and learning so students can go anywhere, and in any field. Students must be able to think critically, come up with multiple solutions, and problem-solve.” McCammon currently serves schools, districts, non-profits, and communities in various areas of need including through strategic planning support as well as curriculum and program development. McCammon’s goal is to support positive change while serving as a knowledge resource, partner, and liaison in the efforts across our State to improve engagement, outcomes, and growth for our students, families, and communities.
Amanda believes Women & Hi Tech can play an essential role in bringing STEM education and resources to students in rural or underserved areas. “All these legislative mandates influence what our teachers have time to do in the classroom, which informs what we need to do outside the classroom to support their efforts. As an organization, we have to get out of central Indiana and take our services Statewide, to anywhere female students have low access to STEM opportunities.”
When she pictures Women & Hi Tech 20 years from now, McCammon says she hopes it looks completely different—or might not even need to exist at all. “We exist because, over the last two decades, someone has needed to take the reins to get more women in STEM. That’s an issue of the past that we are still trying to correct. Hopefully in 20 years that’s a problem that is solved and we have shifted to a different mission—a mission to solve the STEM problems of the future.”
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