FSU-Teach Program, Scholarships Helping Train and Mentor Young Teachers

Though Katie Aplington and Shellie Warburton didn’t come to The Florida State University thinking they would one day become educators, they now find themselves at the top of a prestigious new teaching program offered by the university. Both women are part of FSU-Teach, an innovative program aimed at developing new mathematics and science teachers, and were recently named the university’s first recipients of the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship.

The Noyce scholarship program was created to encourage talented science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The program provides funds to institutions of higher education throughout the United States to support scholarships and internships for students who commit to teaching math or science in high-needs school districts.

Aplington and Warburton were selected by a committee consisting of Florida State scientists, school district personnel and teachers, as well as education professionals working in high-needs settings. They will each receive $12,000 this school year to put toward their studies.

Noyce scholarship recipients are eligible starting in their junior year and can receive the award for a maximum of two years. As part of the scholarship, recipients agree to teach in a high-needs school district upon graduation for at least two years for each year of funding.

The National Science Foundation defines high-needs schools as those with more than 50 percent of students eligible for participation in a free and reduced-price lunch program; those with more than 34 percent of teachers teaching outside of their discipline; or those with teacher attrition rates at or greater than 15 percent for the previous three years. The Noyce scholarships were established to address the needs of such schools by preparing teachers who will be successful in challenging settings.

For Aplington, the assignment was not always a personal goal.

“It always seems there is a lot of pressure going into a high-needs school, but this program helps alleviate some of that pressure,” she said. “It really opened my eyes. Now I feel like I can do it.”

The funding for FSU-Teach is unique in that it provides much more than scholarships to participating students, said Sherry Southerland, a professor in Florida State’s School of Teacher Education and one of two faculty members overseeing the FSU-Teach program.

“Not only will the students receive the scholarship but our scholars will work with mentors in area high-needs school districts,” she said. “These mentors will help the students discover how to handle the challenging situations that are often found in high-needs settings.”

Following graduation, the new teachers will continue to work with the mentors, providing them with a community of people who can help facilitate the transition from the university to a classroom setting.

For Warburton, this network of mentors has greatly enhanced her education.

“This program is great,” she said. “The relationship with our mentors and teachers is really what makes my education at Florida State special.”

In addition to the scholarships and mentoring, the National Science Foundation grant will fund summer internships for prospective students in the FSU-Teach program. The two-week internships allow students to interact in a classroom environment in order to give them a taste of the teaching profession and an unbiased introduction to high-needs schools.

The Noyce scholarships are part of a five-year grant provided by the National Science Foundation to Florida State in the amount of $726,260. The money will support FSU-Teach scholars and, in turn, help to increase the number of qualified math and science teachers in Florida’s high-needs schools.

Although still in its infancy, FSU-Teach continues to expand its enrollment, with 130 students currently in the program.