By the end of the decade, America is forecast to need 200,000 additional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers in the classroom.
To address the issue, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced it was releasing $35 million in grants to help fund teacher preparation programs in rural areas. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said the funding would help ensure that all Colorado students receive a high-quality education.
“Our teachers and principals are key to preparing students for success, and we need to give them every tool and resource to help make that possible,” said Bennet.
The Public Education and Business Coalition in partnership with the Boettcher Teacher Residency program received $2.9 million of the federal funding. The partnering agencies will use the funds to help offset STEM needs in 15 of Colorado’s rural school districts. The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 district is included in the five-year grant program.
“No areas are harder to fill than STEM positions,” said Re-1 Superintendent Alex Carter. “Finding these people, whose training and skill often make them great candidates for higher paying private sector jobs, is always difficult.”
Described by Carter as a valuable asset to the district and students, he was asked to identify areas of local concern the program could help mitigate. The first issue highlighted by Carter was difficulty in recruiting middle and high school math and science teachers to the region.
“This is a yearly battle for our principals,” said Carter.
He added that it was also problematic to find teachers with the necessary background needed to teach college level coursework in STEM courses, such as advanced placement statistics, dual-enrollment physics and chemistry and computer science and programming.
In addition to providing hands-on classroom instruction, teacher residency candidates would also work toward earning a master’s degree at Adams State University in Alamosa. Carter envisions the program could possibly provide up to 10 teachers annually for the district.
“Of course, that number is dependent upon the funding we have available to support the program, which is controlled by the state legislature,” said Carter.
Through the grant program, Carter said the district would explore avenues to assist the teacher candidates financially. Options could include hiring candidates as a teacher with an emergency license or as a paraprofessional.
The federal measure helps to support President Barack Obama’s pledge to recruit and train 100,000 STEM teachers by 2020. To silence critics who believe the nation cannot afford such additional spending, Carter argued that way of thinking was “incredibly short sighted.”
“If our nation intends to continue to be a world leader, our future generations need to have the best education in the world,” said Carter. “We should be investing in our nation’s future by fully funding education. In the long term, this is the best investment our country can make.”
The Boettcher Foundation was among 24 programs nationwide selected to share the $35 million in federal funds to improve teacher preparation programs. Other rural districts in Colorado to benefit include Alamosa, North Conejos, Center, Monte Vista, Moffat 2, Sierra Grande, Centennial, Del Norte, Sangre de Cristo, Dolores RE-2, Rocky Ford, East Otero, Crowley and Huerfano.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
