The AggieTeach Scholarship Program is a Noyce Phase II project that is awarding 47 scholarships to 30 undergraduate STEM majors pursuing teaching careers in grades 8-12. This program is housed in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education, a collaborative effort between the Colleges of Science and Education at the University. The program partners with two local school districts to provide early field experiences and mentoring for the future teachers. All of the efforts of AggieTeach address the need for more and better-prepared STEM teachers. Hallmarks of the program include early identification and recruitment, tuition waivers for students in the first field base course, centralized advising to coordinate degree plans and certification requirements, and mentoring throughout their undergraduate experience in the College of Science. Through the Noyce scholarship program and corresponding inductee support, the AggieTeach program is ensuring that the institution will expand its state-wide effort for the production of highly qualified STEM teachers committed to teaching in high-need schools. Beyond meeting a critical shortage in the state and nation, a unique intellectual merit of this particular program is the assessment that is documenting best practices for teacher training programs at a large state-supported university, which can lead to a broad impact throughout the nation. Results are being shared extensively through presentations at professional conferences and publications in respected refereed journals.
