Jersey City, N.J. 鈥 July 26, 2017 鈥 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University today announced that it has been awarded a five-year grant of $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation for the Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship Program to encourage and prepare future K-12 educators to teach in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The award began on July 1, 2017.
Research shows that students demonstrate improved performance when their teachers majored in the subject being taught in the classroom. Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the United States suffers from a shortage of qualified teachers in math and sciences, particularly in high-need schools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program was designed to respond to this critical need for K-12 teachers of STEM by encouraging talented STEM students and professionals to pursue teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools. Through the program, STEM majors are offered scholarships and stipends to prepare them to become K-12 teachers. The students are then required to complete two years of teaching in a high-need school district for each year of support.
鈥淭his grant is a testament to 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 leadership in STEM education as it marks the second national grant exceeding a million dollars received by the University this year to support STEM initiatives,鈥 said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University. 鈥淔eeding the STEM pipeline in New Jersey has become critical as the supply for STEM majors is not meeting the demand for STEM employment. 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚, a university grounded in the liberal arts, has a very high enrollment of STEM majors that exceeds the national average, and we look forward to having our graduates work as educators to inspire future students to major in the STEM fields.鈥
The five-year grant was awarded for a project titled, INVEST (Investing through Noyce Vocations to Engage in STEM Teaching: Preparing High Achieving STEM Teachers to Serve High-Need Schools). The project was developed under the co-direction of John E. Hammett III, Ed.D., professor and chairperson of mathematics at 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University; Yosra Badiei, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry at 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University; and James Clayton, Ed.D., associate professor of education at 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University. The project establishes the goal to identify, recruit and prepare highly-qualified STEM teacher candidates majoring in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The students will go on to teach in high-need K-12 schools in northern New Jersey.
Scholarship recipients will be selected from 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University as well as Hudson County Community College (HCCC), a partner in the INVEST project. In 2016, 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 entered into a dual admission agreement with HCCC for STEM majors and the dual admissions program will serve as a feeder to the 猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 scholarship program. Additional partners include Marist High School and the school districts of Bayonne, Jersey City, North Bergen and Weehawken.
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猫咪社区 Peter鈥檚 University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.
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