New Program Builds on 100Kin10 Partners’ Innovations to Retain Excellent STEM Teachers.
100Kin10, a partnership committed to recruiting, preparing, and retaining 100,000 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers in 10 years, applauds the announcement today by the Obama Administration of a national STEM Master Teachers Corps that recognizes, rewards, and engages the best STEM teachers, elevates the status of the profession, and provides funds to support mentorship activities in their schools and districts.
The 100Kin10 partnership, launched by Carnegie Corporation of New York and Opportunity Equation, is comprised of more than 115 members ranging from museums to universities, teacher residencies to school districts, non-profits to high-tech corporations. Each partner has committed to deploying their creativity, resources, and talent to bring more, excellent STEM teachers to American classrooms.
According to a White House press release, the national STEM Master Teacher Corps will “recognize and help retain America’s most talented STEM teachers, build a community of practice among them, raise the profile of the STEM teaching profession, and leverage excellent teachers to collaborate with their peers to strengthen STEM education in America’s public schools.”
“The creation of a STEM Master Teacher Corps represents a significant effort to recognize the country’s top STEM teachers and transform the prestige of the profession,” noted Talia Milgrom-Elcott, program officer at Carnegie Corporation of New York who, with Maya Agarwal Lundhagen of Opportunity Equation, is leading the 100Kin10 partnership. “To ensure that all students have the STEM literacy necessary to be full participants in the nation’s economy and democracy, we need more than just an infusion of excellent STEM teachers; we must also find new ways to raise their status and increase their impact for the benefit of all teachers and students.”
“As Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has emphasized, building a STEM Master Teacher Corps will require multi-sector collaboration,” said Lundhagen. “100Kin10 partners are well positioned to design and join these collaborative master teacher opportunities for the benefit of all teachers.”
The White House initiative builds on work of two 100Kin10 partners, the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and Google, which through the 100Kin10 partnership have committed to jointly convening education leaders to design a blueprint for a high-profile recognition program to celebrate the top five percent of STEM teachers nationwide.
"The 100Kin10 movement has created a community of leaders and innovators who have helped keep STEM teachers at the top of the national agenda,” said Bina Venkataraman, Director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute and senior adviser to Eric Lander, co-chair of PCAST. “Working in collaboration with Google, we are building support for a STEM Teacher Corps and calling forth creative thinkers to propose how such a Corps might best accomplish its aims.”
"We are thrilled to partner with the Broad Institute in hosting a design workshop to find innovative ways to recognize and celebrate excellence in STEM teaching," said Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Head of K-12 Education Outreach at Google. "We look forward to doing our part to make the STEM Master Teacher Corps a dynamic and effective community."
Additional Support from 100Kin10 Partners:
“In a digital, international information age, the economic future of the U.S. and all other nations will be determined by their STEM resources—human capital being key. Today, we have a shortage of STEM teachers, particularly in high-need school districts. Our universities are not preparing the number and quality of STEM teachers that we need, and we lose too many because they don’t get strong mentoring. This is the focus of the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship and the work we do with our 100Kin10 partners. A national corps of STEM master teachers offers the policy and motivation to close the gap.”
Arthur Levine, President, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation; President Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University
“Delivering new teachers to the steps of the schoolhouse is important, but if we want them to succeed and remain in the classroom, new teachers need access to role models and need to know that their own excellence in the classroom can one day be recognized and rewarded. Our very best STEM teachers rightfully demand the same. A STEM master teacher corps will contribute to both these goals.”
John Deasy, Superintendent of Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District
"The STEM Master Teacher Corps has vast potential since support for new teachers is at its heart. Like the 100Kin10 movement, this new initiative acknowledges that providing new STEM teachers with the one-on-one mentoring and professional development they need is as important as efforts to prepare and recruit them. We know from our work across the country that pairing accomplished Corps members with new STEM teachers will result in more effective novice educators who will improve student learning and remain in the profession."
Ellen Moir, Founder and CEO, The New Teacher Center
“If we want to increase the return on the considerable investments we’ve made to recruit and train beginning STEM teachers, we need creative ways to share best practices and provide the guidance and inspiration that are essential to keeping new teachers in the profession. To address the STEM education crisis, we’ve got to first solve the retention crisis—the Master Teacher Corps is a tremendous step in this direction.”
Tom Stritikus, Professor and Dean, University of Washington College of Education
“The STEM Master Teacher Corps will make a vital contribution to the goal of reaching every student with excellent teachers and building an opportunity culture in our nation's schools.”
Bryan Hassel, Co-director, Public Impact; Co-founder, Opportunity Culture Initiative
About 100Kin10
100Kin10 is a multi-sector mobilization that responds to the national imperative to train 100,000 excellent science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers over the coming 10 years. 100Kin10 partners take action by increasing the supply of excellent STEM teachers; hiring, developing, and retaining excellent STEM teachers; and building the 100Kin10 movement. More information is available at www.100kin10.org.
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