WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced that Montclair State University (MSU) has been awarded $1,449,992 in federal funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance training of future elementary math teachers in underserved New Jersey schools. The grant will fund 30 scholarships over five years to undergraduate mathematics majors to become K-6 grade math teachers through MSU’s Preparing the Effective Elementary Mathematics Teacher (PE2MT) project.
“New Jersey needs more highly qualified math and science teachers to help students meet the demands of and ensure their global competitiveness in this 21st century economy,” said Sen. Menendez. “This grant to Montclair State will help give our children the education they deserve and the tools they need to pursue their dreams.”
“Investing in our nation’s STEM education is key to strengthening the future of our economy and preparing a 21st Century workforce,” said Sen. Booker. “I am pleased to see such a well-respected New Jersey institution like Montclair State take this important step in preparing the next generation of teachers and paving the way for the future success of our children.”
With funding from NSF’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program, MSU’s PE2MT Scholarship Program, in collaboration with The County College of Morris, will produce 30 new elementary mathematics teachers who are well prepared to teach in high-need schools in New Jersey. In addition to their mathematics and education coursework requirements, these teachers will have graduated from a uniquely enhanced degree program that engages them in a range of educationally and psychologically transforming professional development experiences.
The program seeks to recruit high-quality pre-service elementary teachers for effective mathematics teaching, prepare high-quality pre-service elementary teachers for a career of effective mathematics teaching in a high-need school, and promote the retention of high-quality elementary math teachers in high-need schools. Accordingly, this project broadens participation to under-represented groups in mathematics by recruiting new elementary mathematics teachers to the profession, providing them with extraordinary preparation experiences, and placing them in the schools where they are needed most.
In addition, the PE2MT project will undertake research to better understand pre-service mathematics teacher preparation at the elementary level. The research will investigate the potential contributions of bachelors-level mathematical knowledge to elementary-level mathematics teaching and how these pre-service teachers' cultural, community, and educational content knowledge develop as they learn to teach mathematics for the diversity of elementary classrooms.
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