Harris-Stowe State University, a small HBCU in the St. Louis metropolitan area, serves approximately 2,000 students, ninety percent African American. Harris-Stow also has a legacy of preparing candidates for careers in elementary and secondary science and mathematics education.
The HBCU-UP project at Harris-Stowe has two main goals: to increase the academic achievement level for first year students in mathematics and science courses; and to increase the overall enrollment and graduation rates of students pursuing teacher degrees in mathematics and science.
The strategies proposed make up the Retention Enhancement Program (REP) and the Teacher Education Reform Program (TERP), and emerged as a result of a planning process supported by an NSF HBCU-UP planning grant. Many of the strategies parallel each other for the Retention Enhancement Program and the Teacher Education Reform Program. These strategies include student support services (e.g. peer tutoring and peer mentoring); curriculum reform in mathematics and science; enhancement and expansion of research opportunities for students, including pre-service teachers, and a residential summer academy for incoming students. The program will be supported by a Director of Retention for Mathematics and Science who will coordinate the retention and recruiting efforts.
Through the HBCU-UP project, Harris-Stowe State University expects an increase in the number of teacher education candidates in mathematics and science, and an increase in the retention of first year students in mathematics and science.
