NSF grant will help NKU produce more mathematics teachers for high-need schools
News from NKU...
Friday - Aug. 7, 2009
For immediate release...
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help Northern Kentucky University and the Kentucky Center for Mathematics to prepare more high school mathematics teachers.
Under the program, NKU will select talented undergraduate students interested in mathematics education and prepare them to be fully qualified, well-prepared teachers who will teach secondary mathematics in high-need schools. In addition to the scholarship funding, these students will be provided with on-going support during their early teaching years.
"This grant provides a tremendous opportunity for students interested in teaching secondary mathematics," said Kirsten Fleming, who will coordinate the program. "Students will be supported and mentored as undergraduates students and during their early years of teaching."
The grant, totaling $897,690, will create at least 28 scholarships over the course of the five-year program for talented NKU students interested in teaching mathematics at the secondary level. Scholarships will be at least $10,000 per recipient and will be available to junior mathematics majors who plan to teach at the high school level. The scholarships will be renewable for one year.
In addition to the two-year scholarships, the program will include an aggressive recruiting plan which includes a partnership with Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; opportunities for incoming freshmen and rising sophomores to engage in summer experiences designed to stimulate their interest in becoming secondary mathematics teachers working in high-need schools; an outstanding teacher preparation program including valuable enhancements that foster a community of learners and expose participants to contemporary literature on, and effective practices in, the teaching and learning of secondary mathematics; and mentoring and coaching support for program graduates.
Fleming said the program, called Preparing Regional Increases in Mathematics Educators (PRIME), exemplifies the power of collaboration, with a project team that includes two NKU departments, the university's Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics, the Kentucky Center for Mathematics as well as the Covington Independent, Newport Independent and Cincinnati Public Schools.
Program graduates will have a direct, positive impact on the high school students they teach, and by serving as role models for other teachers in the high-need schools the graduates benefit the education of even more students in meaningful ways. The program will generate information about strategies that are effective in recruiting undergraduates, graduating them as teachers committed to working in high-need schools and retaining them in the teaching profession. This information can also be used nationally to enhance programs for pre-service and in-service teachers.
"Increasing the number of well-qualified secondary mathematics teachers, particularly in high-need schools, is key to ensuring that students receive the foundation needed to be successful in college and the workplace," Fleming said.
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