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| CSULB Receives Charitable Grant To Help Prospective Teachers | ||||||
| A generous grant of 460-thousand dollars was awarded to CSULB's college of natural sciences and mathematics through an application process that involved 64 other applicants, ending with 15 colleges and universities as recipients. | ||||||
| According to the National Science Foundation, "the Noyce Scholarship program is providing funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends and programs for students who commit to teaching mathematics and science in high-need K-12 schools."� The program will send new and improved teachers to various districts in the state, including the Long Beach Unified School District and the Whittier school district. | ||||||
| The scholarship is geared toward increasing teacher preparedness in four distinct subjects - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - commonly referred to as STEM.� Students who are awarded the scholarship will "enter and complete teacher credentialing programs" by teaching for two years at a high-need school. | ||||||
| Laura Henriques, the science credential advisor at CSULB, says the grant "will enable [advisors] to support students in math and science who want to become teachers."� "The grant will pay their tuition and living expenses and in return they teach in low performing schools," Henriques added. | ||||||
| According to statistics mentioned by the Foundation, students in these unsatisfactory schools are over 70-percent likely to be taught by an unqualified teacher and nearly 50-percent of teachers in these areas leave the field within three years. | ||||||
| "We were one of just 15 grant recipients out of 64 applicants, and I believe it is testimony to the quality of the programs we have here at the university that we were able to be competitive," said Elizabeth Ambos, principal investigator for the Noyce scholarship at CSULB.� Ambos, who was an associate dean for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, believes that there are too many teachers teaching math and science who do not have enough background in the fields.� "The Noyce Scholarship program is trying to meet a need for better prepared math and science teachers on a national level by offering stipends to individuals who will complete a credential in math and science," Ambos added. | ||||||
| The scholarship was named after Robert Noyce who was commonly referred to as the "Mayor of Silicone Valley" after inventing the integrated chip, a creation that paved the way for the powerful microprocessors of today.� He co-founded Intel and worked for Fairchild Semiconductors, revolutionizing the field until his death in 1990.� Based on these accomplishments, it is quite fitting that the scholarship aims to better educate urban students about technological and scientific issues. | ||||||
| One interesting thing about the grant is that students who receive the scholarship will essentially become real teachers while attending school.� Transfer students from community colleges such as Cerritos and Long Beach have an advantage in receiving the scholarship, since these schools, according to Ambos, "have excellent teacher preparation academies." | ||||||
| Ambos has also praised the program for the potential effect it will have on the new teachers' students, which she calls the "multiplier effect."� "Each of the students selected for the program is going to teach thousands of students in their professional careers," Ambos said, adding, "this is really one of those solid bread-and-butter projects that will make a tremendous difference." | ||||||
| Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2004, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | ||||||
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