Robert Noyce Scholarship Program

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This Noyce Stipend Program supports recently initiated efforts to address the critical shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers in the Chicago Public Schools, particularly in urban areas of high need. It builds on a successful partnership between CPS and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) that offers standards-based program opportunities for career-change candidates with strong science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) backgrounds interested in becoming a certified teacher. This Noyce Project specifically features two such program opportunities: 1) the Middle Grades Science (MGS) and Middle Grades Mathematics (MGM) Program, and 2) the Master of Science in Teaching Secondary School Mathematics (MST) Program. Teacher candidates in the MGS/MGM Program earn an elementary school certificate (K- 9) with a middle grades (5 - 8) endorsement in science or mathematics. It is an alternative route program, with separate science and mathematics cohorts, offered through the College of Education. The MST is a conventional secondary teacher preparation program (6-12) offered through the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science. The beneficiaries of a Noyce Stipend Award are career-change candidates with strong academic abilities and STEM qualifications and demonstrated financial need, within the broader social commitment to preparing a diverse workforce of science and mathematics teachers prepared to address the needs of urban youth (Ladson-Billings, 1995). There are three specific objectives: 1) to enhance the recruitment of STEM candidates to the MGS/MGM and MST programs; 2) to support the retention of MGS/MGM candidates, given the documented need for heightened support for those entering through alternative certification routes across the first three years (CSMPT, 2001; Huling, Resta, & Rainwater, 2001); and 3) to redirect the MST student pipeline at UIC to teacher employment in CPS in high-need areas. These goals are being attained by awarding stipends to the appropriate students. The program includes two types of stipend awards: one to aid the recruitment of new candidates, and the other to assist with the retention of recently admitted candidates.