Congressman Fattah Announces NSF Grant to Saint Joseph's University for STEM Teacher Retention

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) announced today that Saint Joseph's University (SJU) in his Philadelphia-area district has received a National Science Foundation grant to help increase STEM educator retention. The grant for $299,552 will support the Phase II Noyce Scholarship Monitoring and Evaluation project at SJU, which explores the factors that influence secondary teacher retention rates in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

"I applaud the ongoing research efforts at Saint Joseph's University to increase and retain the number of high quality educators teaching in the STEM fields—especially in high-need urban schools," Congressman Fattah said. "STEM skills are increasingly critical in a 21^st century economy. The Noyce Scholarship Program has been incredibly successful at attracting and encouraging more teachers to enter STEM fields, but efforts like this are critical to continuing to ensure our students are learning from the best professionals in these subjects."

The program will launch with eight current Noyce Scholars employed at public, charter and private schools throughout the City of Philadelphia. Additional scholars will be added to the project throughout its duration. The research and findings will be used to help inform and support undergraduate teacher preparation programs and early career professional development initiatives in the STEM fields.

Through his work as the lead appropriator for the country's science agencies, including NSF, Congressman Fattah has been a vocal advocate for STEM and a longtime supporter of the Noyce Scholarship program. In June he spoke to more than 500 Noyce educators, administrators, and faculty at the program's annual conference in Washington.

 For additional information on individual projects via the NSF Award Abstracts database, please visit: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

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