FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University has received a 1.2-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program for a new STEM program, in partnership with Norwalk, Bridgeport and Stratford school districts. The program—Scholars Integrating Science Tech Engineering Math in Elementary Classrooms (SISTEMEC)—will prepare 18 scholars over a five-year period to teach STEM in high-need, multicultural elementary schools.
Connecticut and other states across the country are experiencing a shortage of highly qualified elementary STEM teachers who can use the newest practices based on Common Core math and Next Generation Science standards. An article in The Connecticut Mirror (August 2017) reported that “hundreds of teaching positions go unfilled each yearbecause school districts can’t find qualified candidates…The shortage of qualified teachers has meant that thousands of students each year are being taught by long-term substitutes—most of them in the state’s lowest-performing districts.”
The Noyce program responds to this critical need for K-12 teachers of STEM disciplines by encouraging talented STEM students and professionals to pursue teaching careers in elementary and secondary schools. The program awards grants to institutions of higher education to provide scholarships, stipends and program support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers.
SISTEMEC, an interdisciplinary project from SHU, will increase the number and effectiveness of qualified STEM elementary teachers in the local, high-need areas through a revised education curriculum and engagement in service learning and inquiry-based research experiences. The scholars will be better prepared to help their elementary students understand and solve problems holistically, integrating the various STEM perspectives. This will especially aid students in multicultural and high-need classrooms who may need multiple perspectives and reinforcement to improve math and science skills.
“This Noyce STEM grant builds upon our very successful Noyce Biology and Mathematics for Educators scholars grant by allowing us to expand our focus on educating future STEM teachers to the elementary grade levels (K-5). Improving our teachers’ ability to teach STEM disciplines and make interdisciplinary connections between STEM subjects will provide our students with the skills necessary to tackle the ever-changing scientific and technological world that lies ahead,” said Mark Beekey, chair and professor of biology at SHU.
The program will recruit prospective first-year and transfer students, as well as matriculated first- and second-year students, with an emphasis on underrepresented minority students, first-generation college students, lower-income students, and veterans. Scholars earning their Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary STEM and a Master of Arts in teaching will receive financial aid and student support that includes a nine-month graduate teacher internship; faculty advising; a master’s mentoring program (which will pair Noyce scholars in their junior year with a STEM teacher in a high-need school district); and targeted STEM education workshops.
Students interested in this opportunity should email Rainville at rainvillek@sacredheart.edu or (203) 365-7517.
###
About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus, which is located about an hour from Manhattan and 2.5 hours from Boston. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. More than 8,500 students attend the University’s eight colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business; Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, yet at the same time develops students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives and professions and in their communities. A spirit of service, entrepreneurship and social justice is the essence of who we are and can be seen inside and outside the classroom as students learn how to make a difference far beyond Fairfield. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 384 Colleges–2019 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 267 Business Schools–2018 Edition. It also placed SHU on its lists for “Happiest Students” and “Most Engaged in Community Service,” each of which comprises only 20 U.S. schools. Sacred Heart has a Division I athletics program. www.sacredheart.edu