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In The News
September 18, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
$750,000 Grant from National Science
Foundation
To Support Future Math and Science Teachers
(Carson, CA)— California
State University Dominguez Hills has been awarded a $750,000 Robert
Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant from the National Science Foundation
designed to encourage more math and science majors to become middle
and high schools teachers.
The grant will provide $10,000 in scholarships over the next five
years to eligible upper division students currently enrolled at
CSU Dominguez Hills or transferring from a community college.
“This is wonderful news for our math and science programs,
our teacher education program and Dominguez Hills. The Robert Noyce
Teacher Scholarship program is a very competitive grant, awarded
to prestigious universities throughout the nation,” said
teacher education professor Kamal Hamdan, who authored the grant. “This
grant will help us fully implement our vision toward becoming a
leader in training highly qualified math and science teachers for
the Los Angeles region, specifically for its highest-need schools.”
The College of Education has had great success through several
of its programs in helping local schools meet the need for quality
math and science teachers. Those programs, however, have been mostly
geared to either liberal studies majors concentrating in math or
science, as in the case of Math and Science Teacher Initiative
(MSTI) program; or to mid-career math or science professionals
and recent graduates in those fields interested in pursing teaching
careers, such as through the federal Transition to Teaching (TTT)
program.
The Noyce grant adds another component to the
complement of programs at CSU Dominguez Hills in that it is geared
to undergraduates,
and more importantly, specifically those majoring in math or the
sciences.
“We’ve always thought it would be beneficial to work
with math and science candidates early on,” Hamdan said. “It’s
not always typical to identify a career path to teaching for our
math and science majors. With this grant we make a connection early
on between the study of science and math and the teaching of science
and math.”
Through the NSF Noyce grant, eligible junior and senior-level
students majoring in biology, chemistry, math or physics will receive
$10,000 stipends each year toward their degree completion. Hamdan
said a scholarship of that amount would be a wonderful welcome
to many CSU Dominguez Hills student who must work while going to
school.
“With this they don’t have to worry about how to pay
for college or supporting themselves or their families while in
school, and that will allow them to complete their degree in a
timely manner,” he said.
As Noyce Scholars, these students will
be eligible for further financial support, including Teacher
Education Assistance for College
and Higher Education (TEACH) grants and Assumption Program of Loans
for Education (APLE) loan forgiveness. Further, after completion
of their bachelor’s degree, Noyce Scholars can “transition” into
the Transition to Teaching program and receive continued financial
and academic support while earning their credential.
In addition to the financial support, Noyce Scholars will receive
unparalleled academic support, such as personalized advising and
monthly seminars with other scholars and experts in the fields
of math, science and education. They also will have the opportunity
to serve as teaching assistants in L.A. Unified and Lynwood Unified
schools.
“We will equip them with ways to look at teaching from different
perspectives, so when they step into the classroom they are prepared,” Hamdan
said.
The Noyce scholarship will be open to existing CSU Dominguez Hills
students as well as incoming upper division transfer students.
To be eligible, students must commit to earning their single-subject
credential and agree to teach at a high-need school in Los Angeles
or Lynwood school district for four years.
For more information about the CSU Dominguez Hills Noyce scholarship,
call (310) 243-2080. To learn more about the National Science Foundation
Noyce grant program, visit. www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5733
For more information about Transition to Teaching programs (TTT),
visit www.csudh.edu/coe/ttt2 or call (310) 243-2668; or about the
Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI), visit www.csudh.edu/coe/msti or call (310) 243-2080.
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---------------------------------------------- About
CSU Dominguez Hills -- California
State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse,
urban university located in the South Bay, primarily
serving the
Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself
on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered
environment.
Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology,
business administration, and digital media arts, new degree
programs include computer science, criminal justice,
recreation and leisure
studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus
is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex
that hosts
world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and
cycling.
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