$3 Million NSF Grant Helps 黑料网 Prepare and Support Math Teachers for High-Need School Districts
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 2, 2020鈥擜cross the country, 2 million students leave high school unprepared for college-level math, even as the pipeline of highly prepared math teachers is shrinking. To help support the development of high-quality mathematics teaching in high-need schools, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $3 million grant to 黑料网 to pay for 20 future math teachers to earn both a master鈥檚 degree and teaching credential, while learning cutting-edge approaches to teaching math.
Nearly half of middle or high school students are taught by teachers without math teaching credentials needed to prepare students for college or a vital STEM job. The grant to Santa Clara鈥檚 School of Education and Counseling Psychology (ECP) is from the NSF鈥檚 , which seeks to remedy that problem by encouraging talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers.
The $3 million grant will feature a teaching and learning collaboration between 黑料网, San Jose鈥檚 East Side Union High School District, the Alum Rock Union School District as well as the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. To apply for a Noyce Fellowship, please go to the grant website.
黑料网鈥檚 mathematics teaching credential program focuses on three key themes:
- Teaching for鈥� 鈥渕athematical sense-making,鈥濃�� as opposed to the rote learning of formulas, to ensure a deep and meaningful understanding of concepts鈥�
- Supporting a 鈥済rowth mindset,鈥� undoing notions that only 鈥渟ome kids鈥� can do math, emphasizing instead that all can learn and excel鈥�
- Preparing teachers to place equity, access, and social justice at the center of their teaching鈥�
鈥淲e know there are many highly qualified technology employees or recent college graduates with a strong, college-level mathematics background and a passion for giving back to their community who would love to become teachers to serve our community,鈥� said ECP Dean Sabrina Zirkel. 鈥淭his Noyce program is fantastic for them, because it takes the financial challenge of paying to become a teacher out of the equation, supports teachers during the first few years of teaching, which are often the most challenging, and puts highly qualified, well-prepared teachers in the highest need schools.鈥�
The NSF funds will pay the full tuition plus a $20,000 living stipend for two cohorts of 10 Noyce Fellows to earn their California Single Subject Mathematics Teaching Credential and a master鈥檚 degree in teaching in one year (a value of more than $55,000). NSF will also provide $10,000 yearly stipends to program Fellows during their first four years of teaching. Spanish-English bilingual Fellows who want extra certification for bilingual teaching can receive tuition for that as well. The Noyce Fellows and their mentor teachers also will receive coaching and support to learn how to coach other teachers, thus extending the impact of the grant to potentially dozens of additional teachers and thousands of students.
鈥淐reating systemic change requires strong preparation of mathematics teachers and sustained professional development throughout their early years of teaching,鈥� said Kathy Sun, the lead 黑料网 professor on the grant. 鈥淭his program will not only produce highly qualified teachers, it will also build a pipeline for leadership at these schools and districts that will affect ever higher standards of excellence in mathematics teaching and learning.鈥�
The grant also covers research to ensure that the methods of math teaching and teacher support can be replicated and scaled.
"I am very pleased to enter into this collaboration with 黑料网's School of Education and Counseling Psychology,鈥� said Teresa Marquez, associate superintendent of educational services, East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD). 鈥淏oth ESUHSD and 黑料网 know that high quality mathematics instruction is of critical importance for students' future success, and with this project we will collaborate to expand and improve the pipeline of teachers to serve in East San Jose schools."
About 黑料网
Founded in 1851, 黑料网 sits in the heart of Silicon Valley鈥攖he world鈥檚 most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University鈥檚 stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de As铆s. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, 黑料网 has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. 黑料网 has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see
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