NAU wins major grant to overhaul prep for math, science teachers

Northern Arizona University has won a $3.4 million grant to double the number of math and science teachers it graduates each year, welcome news to Arizona education and industry leaders alarmed by a shortage of math and science teachers.

The grant—one of 12 nationwide—was announced by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and NAU president John Haeger at a Dec. 10 press conference at the state Capitol. The award will establish the NAUTeach program, modeled after the University of Texas at Austin's UTeach program. $2.4 million of the funding comes from the National Math and Science Initiative, funded by the ExxonMobil Corp. An additional $1 million was donated by the Phoenix-based Helios Education Foundation.

"America was once a leader in math and science education, but that position has steadily and drastically eroded," Dr. Haeger said. "Grants such as this will help us reverse that trend to again ensure our competitiveness in a knowledge-based economy."

The grant funds will allow NAU to take new, innovative steps in teacher preparation. Historically, universities have funneled few math and science majors into the education profession, in part because of the additional coursework typically required to obtain certification. And attrition rates for those young teachers have been high. The consequent deficit of highly qualified math and science teachers has grown still more problematic as states try to respond to calls from technology-intensive industries that increasingly demand new hires with stronger math and science preparation.

"This grant demonstrates how education performance is directly tied to economic performance," Napolitano said. "By fostering innovation in our classrooms, we can regain our status as a global leader in scientific discovery."

The NAUTeach program will offer a concentrated four-year degree program that offers students majoring in math or science early and frequent opportunities to learn from and work beside seasoned classroom teachers, culminating in certification at the time of graduation. Like education majors, they will have gained experience and comfort in the teaching role, but will not have sacrificed deep subject-area expertise. NAU is aiming to jump to roughly 60 math and science graduates who enter teaching each year from the current 30 to 35.

Funds from the Helios Education Foundation will give NAUTeach additional resources to hire master teachers who will work with NAU faculty, advise student teachers, and mentor newly graduated teachers. The program will also offer students small stipends for participation in the program, making participation more financially attractive.

"Programs that work to improve teacher quality and development in areas such as math and science are critical," said Vince Roig, chairman and CEO of Helios. "We congratulate NAU and we look forward to a long-term, successful partnership."

The Helios Education Foundation, created in 2004 through the sale of the Southwest Student Services Corp., a student-loan services company, restricts its grantmaking to Arizona and Florida and is one of the largest foundations in Arizona. The foundation's goal is "to increase the number of young adults successfully completing postsecondary education with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in a global economy."

Support from Helios and the National Math and Science Initiative will make possible "a very low-risk way for students to try teaching as a career," said Julie Gess-Newsome, director of NAU's Center for Science Teaching and Learning, which, together with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will administer the program.

Finding some way to produce a bumper crop of new math and science teachers is virtually mandatory: Hours before the Dec. 10 news conference, Arizona's state Board of Education approved increases in math and science high-school graduation requirements, a decision applauded by observers concerned about the readiness of Arizona high-school graduates to fulfill workforce needs in high-tech fields. And districts are already working to comply with regulations calling for all teachers to be certified in the subjects they teach, a goal many schools have failed to meet in the past.

The originating program at the University of Texas at Austin, initiated in 1997, has demonstrated compelling evidence that it can help bring more and better-qualified teachers into math and science classrooms. That program has graduated more than 400 students into teaching, and has 470 currently enrolled. UTeach graduates have retention rates of 84 percent after four years in the education profession, compared with 60 percent nationally.

"In a lot of cases, especially for secondary teachers, [teaching is] often an afterthought, something they decide their junior or senior year when they're saying, 'Now what am I going to do with this degree?'" Gess-Newsome said in the East Valley Tribune. NAUTeach, she said, will help strengthen retention by allowing students to preview the profession well before they graduate.

UTeach's record of success encouraged ExxonMobil to provide $125 million to establish the program through the National Math and Science Initiative. Other funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

"As a company that employs 14,000 engineers and scientists, ExxonMobil knows how important it is to provide the best education and training possible for our nation's young people," said Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil's chairman and CEO.

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For more information:

"NAU to receive $3.4 million grant for math, science education," Arizona Daily Sun, 12/10/2007

"NAU gets $3.4 million for more math, science teachers," East Valley Tribune, 12/10/2007

"NAU gets $3.4 million to boost production of math, science teachers," Business Journal of Phoenix, 12/10/2007

"Grant's aim: More math and science teachers," Arizona Republic, 12/11/2007

Northern Arizona University news release

National Math and Science Initiative