The Phase I Robert Noyce Teacher Education Scholarship Program at Vassar College is recruiting, preparing, and certifying 14 high-achieving STEM majors to become K-12 science and mathematics teachers in high-need schools. The program builds on Vassar's rigorous undergraduate STEM programs, a teacher education program that emphasizes leadership, and well-established STEM outreach programs with local high-need schools. The Vassar Program includes four critical elements: scholarships for 14 high-achieving Vassar STEM majors during their junior and senior years and for completion of student teaching the fall following graduation; summer science education and research internships; pre-professional activities in partnership with high-need districts in the City of Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park, NY; and, support for early career professional development in collaboration with the Consortium for Excellence in Teacher Education. Vassar STEM faculty members and local K-12 STEM educators are mentoring the Noyce Scholars.
This program is increasing the number of Vassar STEM majors entering K-12 STEM education in high-need districts, improving the quality of STEM education in those districts, and producing leaders in K-12 STEM education. These new teachers also motivate students from under-served groups to raise their educational aspirations, including the college-level study of mathematics and science. The program is designed as a model that can be replicated at predominantly undergraduate institutions with strong STEM programs and high-ability students with an interest in K-12 education in under-served communities, who typically leave the immediate area after graduation to teach in schools in large metropolitan areas.
