National Math and Science Initiative Awards $12 million to Endow UTeach Program at 12 Universities

Regional recipients include University of North Texas and The University of Texas at Dallas
 
 DALLAS – The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) today awarded $12 million in challenge grants to endow the highly-successful UTeach programs at 12 American universities.
 
 One million dollars was awarded to each of 12 universities that have raised matching funds and met performance benchmarks for implementing the UTeach program to recruit and train college students to become math and science teachers.
 
 The recipient universities are Florida State University, Louisiana State University, Northern Arizona University, Temple University, University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Irvine, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Florida, University of Houston, University of North Texas (UNT), University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), and Western Kentucky University.
 
 The grants were announced at a special event at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas to spotlight the impact of the UTeach program on education in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where three major universities are implementing the program: The University of North Texas, The University of Texas at Arlington and The University of Texas at Dallas. UNT and UT Dallas were in the first group of UTeach programs in 2008, making them eligible for the $1 million matching grants announced today. It is estimated the North Texas programs will produce approximately 800 math and science teachers in the next five years, providing a needed infusion of expertise in math and science for area schools and impacting nearly a half a million students. 
 
“These grants will ensure that these universities can continue producing the math and science teachers of tomorrow. Our country needs well-prepared teachers who can spark the imagination of our students and equip them for the challenges of tomorrow,” said NMSI CEO Sara Martinez Tucker. “No program is more effective at that preparation than UTeach.”
 
Originated at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997, the UTeach program enables students majoring in math, science, or computer science to receive full teaching certification without adding time or cost to their degrees. Eighty-eight percent of UTeach graduates from the UT-Austin program become teachers, and 80 percent are still in the classroom after five years. Approximately half teach in high-needs schools.
 
 NMSI, in partnership with the UTeach Institute has expanded the teacher preparation program nationwide since 2008.  The program is currently being implemented at 34 universities, including the original UT Austin site. As a result of a recent $21.25 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, NMSI will be able to expand the program to 10 Tier One research universities this year. More than 6,000 students are currently enrolled in the UTeach program. That enrollment is expected to double over the next five years.
 
“The growing demand for the UTeach program around the country underscores that more college students will seek careers as math and science teachers if you provide an approach for them that makes sense,” said Kenneth P. Cohen, Vice President of Public and Government Affairs at Exxon Mobil Corporation.  ExxonMobil, one of the founding supporters of NMSI, provided $12 million for the NMSI challenge grants.
 
 The President’s Council on Science and Technology (PCAST) has estimated that the U.S. will need 100,000 additional teachers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by 2020. NMSI has been a leader in addressing the nation’s call for a new pipeline of highly qualified STEM teachers through its UTeach program and through partnerships with national organizations such as 100Kin10, which seeks to recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers in the next 10 years.  With the recent HHMI grant, UTeach will be able to produce more than 17,849 math and science teachers by 2022, providing a significant share of the national goal.
 
“We’re proud to support UTeach, which is making a real difference in addressing the critical shortage of math and science teachers in our schools. The Texas Instruments Foundation has been involved from the beginning with the North Texas universities in this program and we’re glad to see the matching grants that extend our investments for even greater results in the future,” said Ann Pomykal, Texas Instruments Foundation executive director.
 
 The UTeach programs in the North Texas region have experienced rapid growth in recent years:
•UTeach Dallas at UTD has grown from 24 students the first semester to its current 350 students, a 1350 percent increase. Recent graduates are all employed in school systems or science learning centers or have gone on to graduate school. The 100-plus graduates since the program’s inception could potentially impact about 79,000 middle and high school students by 2019.
•UNT’s Teach North Texas enrollment has experienced similar growth, with 288 students currently enrolled. Program graduates are teaching secondary math or secondary science in North Texas schools, many in the Fort Worth, Mid-Cities and Denton area as well as Dallas schools. It is expected that 100 students will have graduated from the UNT program by next year, providing an infusion of teachers with deep content knowledge in math and science for the area.
•UT Arlington’s UTeach program was launched in 2010 with 90 freshmen and has proved to be phenomenally successful, growing to 361 students in fall of 2012. The first UTeach Arlington graduates will receive their diplomas in May 2014. Approximately 50 students are on track to be in the inaugural UTeach Arlington graduating class.
 
There are a total of eight UTeach sites in Texas, including the original UT Austin program. Those programs are expected to produce 5,796 graduates by 2020. It is projected that graduates of these programs will teach approximately two million secondary students by 2020.
 
About UTeach: Graduates of the UTeach program have deep content knowledge in math and science, as well as training in research-based teaching strategies for these critical subjects. They receive early and intensive field teaching experience and on-going mentorship from master teachers during their studies. More than 1,150 college students – and potential future teachers – have graduated from the UTeach program, which has seen its enrollment more than quintuple in recent years. NMSI estimates that the graduates from the first cohort of 13 UTeach university sites alone will have taught more than four million students by the year 2020. An estimated 10,225 teachers will graduate by 2020 from the 34 universities currently participating. With the additional HHMI grant, UTeach will be able to produce more than 17,849 math and science teachers by 2022, dramatically increasing the number of students and public schools that will benefit in the United States.
 
Core elements of the UTeach program include:
•Active recruitment and incentives, such as offering the first two courses for free.
•A compact degree program that allows students to graduate in four years with both a degree and teaching certification.
•A strong focus on acquiring deep content knowledge in math and science, in addition to research-based teaching strategies focusing on teaching and learning math and science.
•Early and intensive field teaching experience, beginning in the UTeach students’ first semester.
•Personal guidance from experienced master teachers, faculty and public school teachers.
 
About National Math and Science Initiative: NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform math and science education in the United States.  NMSI has gained national recognition for training K-12 teachers across the country to inspire students to succeed in math, science and English classes as well as recruiting more college students to become dedicated math and science teachers through the UTeach program. NMSI’s AP program – which includes intensive training for teachers, open enrollment, additional study sessions for students and incentives for success – is increasing achievement in 462 schools in 18 states. The NMSI Teacher Training program has trained over 60,000 teachers to deliver more rigorous lessons in the classroom and was selected by PARCC as a premier partner to deliver common core teacher training. The UTeach program, which NMSI is expanding nationally in conjunction with The University of Texas UTeach Institute, is transforming teacher preparation in 34 universities in 16 states.
 
 Inaugural funding for NMSI was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Expansion of the UTeach program is supported by additional funding from the UTeach Institute, AT&T, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Texas Instruments Foundation, the Texas High School Project, the Greater Texas Foundation, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the Tennessee Department of Education, Texas Education Agency, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and other private contributions.
 
 
Media Contact:  Mary Ortiz, 214-346-1245, mortiz@nms.org