This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The Noyce Teaching Fellows at Trinity University is a partnership among Trinity University; eight San Antonio area school districts; the non-profit Zachry Foundation; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Educational Service Center-Region 20 to support two cohorts of STEM professionals in becoming high quality teachers. Partnering independent school districts committed to employing and supporting the ten Noyce Teaching Fellows through their four induction years include: San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Boerne, East Central, Judson, North East, Northside, and Randolph Field.
This Noyce Teaching Fellows program allows the partnership to bring STEM professionals into the strong and growing mathematics and science education program at Trinity University. The need for in-field science and mathematics teachers in the partner high-need school districts is acute, and there is a ready pool of STEM professionals who may be drawn to the teaching profession through financial incentives and the educational support of the Noyce Teaching Fellows program. As the nation's seventh largest city, San Antonio houses the national headquarters for several Fortune 500 companies and is also home to over 89,000 individuals employed in the defense industry -- the majority sharing an affiliation with one of San Antonio's five permanent military bases and a growing military medical center. Among these corporations and the military are potential career changers who have STEM degrees and much to offer to elementary, middle and high school classrooms.
Four STEM professionals comprise the first year cohort of Noyce Teaching Fellows and six join in the second year. Fellows receive the full cost-of-attendance scholarship in the first year as they earn their Masters of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree and a $15,000 salary supplement (later adjusted for inflation) for each of the first four years of teaching in a high-need elementary, middle and/or high school in the partner districts.
Project outcomes include: better STEM instruction for high-need K-12 school districts with up to 90% Hispanic enrollment; a reduced rate of out-of-field teaching in STEM disciplines (estimated to be as high as 40% in schools with high-poverty populations); an improved retention rate for beginning teachers; and an increase in the number of talented scientists and mathematicians who opt for careers in teaching.
Noyce Teaching Fellows take advantage of Trinity's nationally recognized M.A.T. program and benefit from a research-based apprenticeship in professional development schools, creation of a personal portfolio with evidence of meeting Trinity's Standards for Professional Practice, induction support with in-class coaching, and summer professional development opportunities. Each Noyce Teaching Fellow has two university advisors, one in their STEM teaching content area and one who is a pedagogical content specialist.
