President Barack Obama said Monday he and his administration are working to achieve a new goal of educating and recruiting 10,000 science, technology, engineering and math teachers over the next two years.
Beverly Sanford, vice president of communications for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, said the United States has urgent needs for teachers in math and science and that a lack of qualified teachers is a big part of the problem.
"STEM majors have a number of other career possibilities like teaching college, working in industry and going into medicine or engineering so many don't even think about teaching in a K-12 classroom," Sanford said. "When Indiana schools don't have access to the best preparation to work in those fields, their access to careers in Indiana and around the world is also more limited."
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has been working for 65 years to help meet national education needs in the United States, she said.
Sanford said the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which does an international survey of math and science competency among 15-year-olds in 57 countries, placed the United States in 2006 at 32nd in math and 24th in science near countries such as Azerbaijan and Croatia.
Obama said in a press release Monday the initiative to find more qualified teachers for America's STEM classrooms is so important.
"When I came into office, I set a goal of moving our nation from the middle to the top of the pack in math and science education," Obama said. "Strengthening STEM education is vital to preparing our students to compete in the 21st century economy and we need to recruit and train math and science teachers to support our nation's students."
Sanford said four years ago, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation began an Indiana Teaching Fellowship, which is now working with four universities in Indiana, including Ball State, to better qualify STEM teachers.
The fellowship offers a $30,000 scholarship to highly qualified individuals with math and science backgrounds to enroll in master's level teacher preparation programs.
John Jacobson, dean of the Teachers College, said there is a group of 20 graduate students at Ball State who are in the middle of doing their master's work with the help of the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship. They will start teaching in Fall 2011.
Jacobson said he thinks the U.S. falling behind other countries makes STEM education crucial.
"Ball State is on track in doing our part. It's a campus-wide effort with the College of Sciences and Humanities," Jacobson said. "If you're getting a secondary education degree in math or science, you're majoring in your field, not majoring in teaching. We partner with these disciplines in preparing teachers."
Students who are pursuing math and science degrees and taking part in the STEM program can apply for the federal TEACH grant, Jacobson said, which offers up to $16,000 for undergraduates and $9,000 for graduate students.
Susan Johnson, associate dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities, said programs like Obama's and the relationship her department has with the fellowship are important for the United States.
"What is important about the foundation is that it brings together faculty from the Teachers College and the Department of Science and Humanities," Johnson said. "We're really working together to find ways to prepare teachers and so that we use all the expertise we have here on campus to do that."
Sanford said applications are open now for the fellowship which will start at Ball State in Summer 2011. Graduating seniors are eligible, as are alumni and others interested in changing careers.
Anyone wanting to be a part of the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship can apply online at wwteachingfellowship.org.
Obama administration STEM goals
Increasing STEM literacy so all students can think critically in science, math, engineering and technology.
Improving the quality of math and science teaching so American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nations.
Expanding STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and minorities.
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