William & Mary receives NSF grant to recruit STEM teachers

Faculty at the College of William & Mary have received $1.2 million from the National Science Foundation to recruit and place 33 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.

The funding is an extension of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at William & Mary. The Noyce Program is an NSF initiative to meet the need for K-12 STEM teachers in U.S. schools by encouraging science and math majors in colleges and universities to consider a career in grades 6-12 education.

The NSF funding will prepare and place teachers in Newport News, Hampton, Gloucester, New Kent, York and Williamsburg-James City school districts.

William & Mary’s NSF Noyce Program is a partnership between William & Mary’s School of Education, STEM departments and Office of Community Engagement.

The program awards substantial scholarships to college- and master's-level STEM students who agree to teach math or science in a high-need school district. The Noyce Program also involves specialized courses, pedagogical training and in-school teaching experiences.

Paul Heideman, a biology professor and principal of the Noyce program, said in a statement that the new NSF grant will allow the William & Mary team to investigate the long-term success of the Noyce placements.