This Noyce Scholarship project supports efforts to address the shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers in high-need middle and high schools of the Boston Public School district. The program builds on a successful partnership between Harvard's Teacher Education Program (TEP) and the Boston Public Schools. TEP is an eleven-month graduate program that leads to a Master's in Education and initial teacher certification. College graduates who have majored in STEM disciplines are being actively recruited for Noyce scholarships by offering a rigorous and supportive pre-service teacher education program. Noyce Scholars are being trained to teach a standards-based math and science curriculum. TEP is awarding 14 Noyce scholarships each year for three years. As part of their training, Noyce Scholars complete a yearlong, mentored internship in a Boston middle or high school. During their first year of teaching after graduating from TEP, the Scholars return to Harvard for monthly seminars led by experts in mathematics and science. The intellectual merit associated with this project reflects a growing body of research suggesting that the crisis of math and science teacher shortages in urban districts cannot be addressed through recruitment incentives alone. In addition to recruiting, this program is also addressing the quality and context of preservice preparation, classroom based support through mentoring, and opportunities for teachers to further their interests through connections with experts in science and mathematics. This project has a broad impact on advancing discovery and understanding in math and science by providing rigorous preparation and support to middle and high school teaching candidates who possess significant expertise in their disciplines. The project is ensuring that students from linguistically and racially diverse low-income communities, who comprise the vast majority of the student body in Boston's public schools and who are critically underrepresented in the fields of math and science, have access to qualified teachers.
