Our Journey

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is dedicated to addressing the STEM teacher shortage, particularly in schools serving Black, Latinx, and Native American students, by focusing on recruitment, preparation, and retention. Over the next five years, our goal is to prepare and support 50 new highly qualified STEM teachers, with at least 50% serving in high-need school districts (HNSDs). We will continue to embed culturally responsive teaching practices in our STEM education programs and make a concerted effort to remove barriers (financial or other) for pre-service STEM teachers.

Over the next five years, the University of Illinois’ secondary teacher education program will work to expand opportunities for 50 University of Illinois students interested in becoming STEM teachers through the development of new pathways to certification. As part of our work, we are developing 4+1 programs (e.g. Bachelor + Certificate or Bachelor + Master) for students who decide late in their undergraduate career to become teachers. Additionally, we are developing pathways for licensure for students in newly established undergraduate majors. As a land grant institution, we have the responsibility to provide new opportunities for our students so that they are supported in becoming the teachers needed in a changing world.

University of Indianapolis commits to increase the number of teacher candidates to complete our program. By 2027, we aim to grow our program from one secondary STEM student to 2-3 students per year, and 5 per year at the elementary level. We aim to have a third of the population come from a diverse background. We commit to improve our retention rate from 60% to 80%, and 80% must earn a B or better in their science and math courses in order to get a STEM minor. A quarter of those in the program will get an elementary STEM license in Indiana.

The University of Indianapolis commits to supporting teacher belonging and teacher retention. We commit to help foster belonging for teachers by making our program more qualitative than quantitative (for example, helping them develop an engineering/STEM identity, etc.). We will measure this improvement by conducting surveys at the beginning and end of programs. We will also implement other opportunities for teacher candidates to get more on-the-ground experience: through our new local, paid apprenticeship program so they can work in schools for professional development and by teaching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms in high poverty school districts so they can see and have access to exemplar, highly effective STEM lessons and gain more confidence in both the content and teaching. In order to retain more teachers, The University of Indianapolis is setting up a Teacher Prep Academy to help foster a sense of belonging for the teachers. This will incorporate Success Saturdays, student peer mentors, end of year celebrations, and field trips to see other schools. All of this will help them feel a connection to the career and help them see what life would like going this route. Next year, we’ll be building out supports in our freshman orientation.

University of Indianapolis commits to helping students feel belonging in the classroom by developing an assets driven program called Students at Promise for teachers to use that builds in supports and interventions to help eliminate barriers that keep first generation students from getting a degree. This way of teaching will recognize the specific life skills and assets that first generation students bring to college (many that are often invisible), and help move us away from deficit based thinking to strength-based asset recognition.

The University of Indianapolis commits to supporting teacher belonging and teacher retention. We commit to help foster belonging for teachers by making our program more qualitative than quantitative (for example, helping them develop an engineering/STEM identity, etc.). We will measure this improvement by conducting surveys at the beginning and end of programs. We will also implement other opportunities for teacher candidates to get more on-the-ground experience. For example, through our new local, paid apprenticeship program so they can work in schools for professional development. We also have an opportunity for candidates to teach in 4th and 5th grade classrooms in high poverty school districts so they can see and have access to exemplar, highly effective STEM lessons and gain more confidence in both the content and teaching. In order to retain more teachers, The University of Indianapolis is setting up a Teacher Prep Academy to help foster a sense of belonging for the teachers. This will incorporate Success Saturdays, student peer mentors, end of year celebrations, and field trips to see other schools. All of this will help them feel a connection to the career and help them see what life would like going this route. Next year, we’ll be building out supports in our freshman orientation.

By 2029, the University of Mary Washington will recruit and prepare 275 secondary and elementary STEM teachers to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms and will increase the number of teacher education graduates who are Black, Latinx, or Native American by 50%. In addition to integrating culturally and linguistically relevant pedagogy throughout our teacher preparation program, including in STEM teaching methods courses, we will meet these goals by capitalizing on recent grant funding and existing partnerships. We will develop a Call Me Mister program focused on the recruitment and retention of male teachers of color, and through a recent Robert F. Noyce grant, we will prepare 18 secondary STEM teachers to teach in culturally and linguistically relevant ways in diverse STEM classrooms. We will continue to strengthen our ties to local school districts serving Black and Latinx students through our School-University Partnership program and will provide resources to our local community through tutoring initiatives that support culturally and linguistically diverse students outside of the classroom. Through these initiatives, we hope to increase the diversity of the STEM teaching field and to better prepare STEM teachers at all levels to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse settings.

By 2027, the Dana Center will build capacity for K-12 education systems to more equitability advance student engagement, persistence, and success in mathematics – especially Algebra 1, a critical gateway to high school graduation and higher mathematics and science learning. The Center will partner with at least 20 systems in New Mexico and Texas that predominantly serve Black and Latino students and students experiencing poverty and serve almost 400 educators. Professional learning will focus on enhancing leadership support of teachers and developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge and pedagogical strategies, especially those strategies related to culturally responsive instruction, supporting students’ social and emotional development, and developing academic literacy for multilingual learners. As a result, students will experience positive classroom cultures where their knowledge and application of mathematics is increased, they feel a sense of belonging, develop strong mathematical identities, and show increased interest to pursue advanced STEM learning. We support teacher retention by providing high quality professional learning that deepens teacher content knowledge in Mathematics and pedagogical strategies. We also include district leadership (coaches, principles, etc.) so that the work is supported and ongoing system-wide learning is sustained.

The Science and Mathematics Education department at University of Texas at Dallas commits to preparing future culturally and linguistically responsive STEM teachers who create classrooms that foster a sense of belonging. By 2027, we will redesign our classroom interactions course to focus on culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices to prepare pre-service STEM teachers (PSTs) to create classrooms where all students belong and thrive. PSTs will participate in global learning projects with students in other countries (initially Argentina & Paraguay) to increase their understanding and perspectives of other cultures, teaching practices, and ways of knowing. We will measure our success to ensure the PSTs have the skills and mindsets necessary to foster belonging in STEM classrooms, including Black, Latinx and Native American students. Measures will include PSTs’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy and outcome expectancy at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the classroom interactions course and be tracked throughout the course of the program to note changes in PSTs’ self-efficacy and outcome expectancy related to culturally and linguistically responsive instruction. In addition to measuring our success, the PSTs’ responses will help us continue to refine our curriculum.

By fall 2028, University of Utah, Usable STEM Research and Practice Hub (USRPH) commits to recruiting and supporting annual cohorts of 80 STEM and elementary teachers into teaching, with approximately 35% of our cohorts identifying as Black, Latinx, and/or Native American students. We commit to providing ambitious and equitable STEM Teacher Education experiences, full tuition and fees, and three years of induction (including coaching as new classroom teachers) for all scholars in exchange for 1-4 years of teaching in a P-12 Utah school.

By 2027, we plan to recruit 800 early childhood, elementary, and secondary STEM educators into our teacher certification and preparation programs. This will be done through capitalizing on existing partnerships (such as work with our Professional Development Schools Network and Gamecock EdQuarters student affairs staff) as well as creating new recruitment initiatives that center STEM student belonging (such as a new partnership with the SC Afterschool Alliance). The University of South Carolina College of Education (UofSC COE) is committed to preparing teachers to work specifically for schools that serve a majority of Black, Latinx, and Native American students over the next five years. Teacher candidates will engage in courses directly related to cultural sustaining instruction and issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Additionally, issues of DEI and culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies are incorporated in all STEM methods courses. In addition to coursework, pre-service teachers conduct practicums and internships in Title 1 schools throughout their professional program.

UofSC is committed to preparing teachers to effectively teach through culturally sustaining pedagogies that foster a sense of belonging in STEM for their students. Using a STEM culturally responsive efficacy scale given to students before starting and at completion of their certification program, the UofSC COE will measure each program’s ability to prepare pre-service teachers to feel confident to engage in culturally sustaining pedagogies which foster STEM belonging in their students. Students will engage in internships and practicum experiences in Title I schools, as well as engage in methods courses that emphasize the use of culturally sustaining pedagogies in STEM classrooms. Feedback from the survey results will be provided to COE programs to further improve the student STEM belonging in their program courses and experiences.

By 2027, we will help school districts and charter management organizations to increase the diversity of teacher candidates from traditional and alternative pathways and pipelines, including Grow-Your-Own Programs and once hired to target retention strategies to Black, Latinx and Native American STEM teachers. We do this work by building the knowledge and skills of those who perform HR functions, principals, and principal managers. We will provide direct support to principals and central office staff of school districts and charter management organizations with particular focus on Title I schools to implement targeted retention strategies for teachers. Through a series of modules: Principals as Human Capital Leaders, we build the knowledge and skills of principals about their role to cultivate a workplace of belonging for teachers. Retention data will be used as a proxy for teacher belonging.

By 2027, we will work strategically with partners and communities to integrate place-based support for educators who teach students that have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields. The resources will include career awareness opportunities and experiential activities that are culturally relevant and have been co-produced with Tribal members and educators. We will center this work in equity, supporting more than 10 Native American/Alaska Native Tribal Communities, and strengthening our working relationships by supporting Educator and Student Belonging in STEM. We will iterate collaboratively with partners on the continued development of a “First Steps un-guidebook”, an additional resource that can be employed by teachers, educators, and Tribal staff to foster enhanced communication around STEM work.

USC Rossier School of Education commits to recruit and prepare teachers to support students in high-needs schools: By 2027, we plan to recruit 750 new elementary and secondary math and science teachers, all of whom will teach students in high-need schools.

USC Rossier School of Education commits to increase representation and belonging in their program: Given our mission to increase diversity in K-12 schools, we plan to continue our efforts to recruit and prepare 250 Black, Latinx, and Native American STEM teachers for our partner K-12 schools. Our impact will be measured by the sense of belonging our Black, Latinx, and Native American graduates report as they participate in our MAT Program and the number of Black, Latinx, and Native American STEM teacher graduates that persist in K-12 schools.

As the state’s largest preparer of Maryland teachers, USM will increase the number of completers of its STEM educator preparation and professional development programs by 5% annually for a total of more than 550. We will achieve this goal by creating additional pathways into STEM teaching, like creating new Master of Arts in Teaching degree programs for career changers and working with local school systems to collaboratively design licensure programs for existing paraprofessionals.

USM will leverage existing innovative programs that have a track record of recruiting African American male teachers. USM will work with each institution to design signature pipeline programs that (1) increase college-going rates for groups that are most underrepresented, like Black and Latino males; (2) help these students see education as a viable career option; and, (3) provide wrap-around types of supports throughout students’ progress to degree and into the classroom.

USM will use its Maryland Center for Computing Education (MCCE) to design professional development training workshops for teachers in every (100%) minority-serving district in the state. The workshops will be designed to improve teachers’ ability to integrate computational thinking and computer science concepts across disciplines. We will offer direct training to a minimum of 120 teachers annually. Through MCCE, USM provides practical, hands-on experiences that translate directly into the classroom. MCCE supports teachers, faculty, counselors, administrators, and local school systems to create inclusive, equity-centered classrooms that foster high-quality computer science learning for all students. We encourage teachers to continue to grow in this rapidly changing field and to continue to learn new methods, applications, and integration of computing concepts.

By 2027, the UTeach network, for which the UTeach Institute serves as the hub, will prepare over 4,400 STEM teachers across its more than 50 programs, including preparing 300 Black and 840 Latinx teachers.

By 2027, the UTeach Institute will support the establishment of at least eight new UTeach programs, including three at HBCUs, who will produce more than 420 new secondary STEM teachers, including 160 Black secondary STEM teachers, by 2027. This will increase the percentage of Black, Latinx, and Native American UTeach teachers produced nationally to 24% per year, more than doubling the percentage of Black UTeach graduates nationwide from 4% to 9%.

Commitment Statement Coming Soon

By 2026, Washington STEM will develop and share evidence-based, ground-truthed resources (e.g. dashboards, one-pagers, and reports) that meet the following criteria: increase key decision-makers’ understanding of trends in the WA state STEM teaching workforce; drive action toward diversifying and strengthening the workforce, with particular attention to Black, Latine, and Native American educators; and highlight teaching as 1) an in-demand, family-sustaining STEM career 2) a critical STEM career for WA’s economy and communities. These resources will be developed in partnership with state agencies, regional leaders, and organizations that directly support teacher candidates and teachers, through convenings, work groups, and other mutually beneficial opportunities. Along with developing and sharing evidence-based resources, Washington STEM will advocate for high-impact legislative policies and local practices that diversify and strengthen the STEM teaching workforce. As a result of these efforts, key-decision makers in WA will be more knowledgeable and better equipped to activate practices and legislation that sustainably diversify and strengthen the STEM teaching workforce in tune with regional and community needs and aspirations. This will impact student learning by ensuring that WA’s STEM teaching workforce is reflective of the rich racial diversity of our student population and by increasing contributions from cross-sector partners toward a thriving STEM teaching workforce.

WVU is committed to increasing the diversity of students at WVU and in our teaching pipeline. In the next five years, we will work to increase diversity of WVU STEM students (currently 3.8% Black, 4% Latinx), and to reflect or outperform those percentages in our STEM teacher candidates. To do this, WVU will continue to participate in Get the Facts Out (GFO), an NSF-funded project that grew out of a 100Kin10 working group led by Wendy Adams, which focused on increasing the prestige of the teaching profession. By 2027, WVU aims to prepare 100 STEM educators.

WeTeach_CS will retain teachers by countering the isolation CS teachers often feel, supporting them to grow intellectually and professionally, and fostering their joy and purpose as they are able to bring exciting new learning opportunities to their students. We will accomplish this by continuing to connect teachers to the larger WeTeach_CS network, teaching them new and exciting content to help them grow their own understanding of cutting edge computing, and empowering them with the knowledge and resources to advocate for equitable CS programs at their schools. WeTeach_CS is purposeful about targeting our services and partnerships to schools that serve a majority of Black and Latinx students. We have developed a data dashboard that includes data on demographics and CS capacity/access/participation for every school and district in Texas. Over the next five years, we will continue to utilize the data dashboard to identify schools that do not offer CS and prioritize working with schools who serve a majority of Black and Latinx students.

Through our Computing Educator Diversity Initiative (CEDI), WeTeach_CS will recruit, train, support, and stipend 60 Black or LatinX educators new to computer science education over the next five years. The CEDI goal is to develop diverse and well prepared role models in computer science who identify as Black or LatinX for students in middle and high school. Teachers will build their CS content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and understanding of how to reach historically marginalized students in computing. Additionally, the CEDI program connects CEDI teachers of color to a professional learning community and supports teachers to become certified to Texas high school computer science.

Through our Scaling Inclusive Pedagogy (ScIP) project, WeTeach_CS will prepare at least 300 teachers who work primarily in Title I or majority-minority serving schools to create inclusive computer science classroom environments that foster a sense of identity and belonging in computer science classes K-12 over the next five years particularly those who have been historically excluded in CS. Each of these teachers will complete the online “”Strategies for Effective and Inclusive CS Teaching”” course, hosted by The University of Texas at Austin. As part of the course, they will build an action plan for recruiting and retaining a diversity of students in computer science that is reflective of their school population. We will collaborate with the Expanding Pathways in Computing (ECEP) Alliance of 23 states to build a national facilitator network to reach teachers in diverse schools across the country.

Through our Computing Educator Diversity Initiative (CEDI), We Teach_CS, will provide 60 Black and Latinx teachers over the next five years with community and a sense of belonging that we believe will retain teachers in CS. Just as students need to feel a sense of belonging for success in CS, so do teachers. The CEDI program will not only create a more diverse CS teacher workforce that benefits students, but it will create a professional learning community for teachers of color that supports them to develop their identity and belonging in CS.

To increase the number of STEM teachers that complete Western Governors University program, Teachers College (TC) will reimagine our STEM portfolio of programs, expand our portfolio to include a computer science (CS) pathway in partnership with the College of Information Technology and actively pursue targeted recruitment initiatives. This will be measured by the launch of a new program design by 2024 and a minimum of 10 percent overall increase in the number of STEM teachers over 5 years. This will result in 7,912 (total) number of STEM teachers prepared by 2027.

Western Governors University’s Teacher College commits to leveraging the work from our Center of Healthy Learning and the five pillars of SEL, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Character Education, Mental health, and Basic Needs as a guide to integrate healthy learning related curriculum. Doing so ensures our candidates are prepared to be successful in the K-12 communities they will serve. This work will be measured by a curriculum integration mapping project and follow-up assessments of our graduates’ preparedness once hired.

By 2029, Young Leaders Strong City (YLSC) will support 100 STEM teachers to cultivate classrooms of STEM belonging, with 60% of teachers serving in schools that primarily serve Black, Latinx, and Native American students. We will accomplish this through training and professional development by providing intensive workshops focused on asset-based learning, confronting bias and low expectations, and equipping teachers with tools to foster culturally responsive teaching practices. In conjunction with peer coaching designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of systemic inequities while promoting self-reflection and growth. Also, creating spaces for dialogue and collaboration where educators can share experiences and strategies to build more inclusive STEM classrooms. Our impact goals are to ensure that 90% of teachers trained report increased confidence in fostering STEM belonging and equitable practices. As well as achieve a 70% retention rate among participating educators, bolstered by our comprehensive support system.

The Young People’s Project will seek to train, certify and employ (or support the employment of) an additional 750 high school and college students as Math Literacy Workers in the next 10 years. Of those 750 who become Math Literacy Workers, YPP has the goal that at least 10% will matriculate into careers in the STEM teaching field focused on underserved and under-resourced populations in the US. In partnership with the Boston Teacher Cadet Program, YPP seeks to prepare 80 high school students and 52 college students to become high quality STEM educators of color in the Boston Public Schools by 2027.

YPP commits to hosting 1-2 constituent gatherings per year to maintain our network of over 1000 former and current Math Literacy Workers. BTC has specific program partners to support cultivation and retention of STEM teachers. We partner with WEOC: Women Educators of Color, MEOC: Male Educators of Color, SLOC: School Leaders of Color and ALANA: African, Latinx, Asian, Native American networking program to support retention of STEM teachers who identify as Black, Latinx and/or Native American.

YPP and BTC focus almost exclusively on lower and working class students of color in urban settings, and to a lesser degree rural white lower and working class students. YPP is committed to tracking the demographics of the high school and college students we train as Math Literacy Workers to ensure that the demographics of the students we serve match the demographics of the high school and college students we train.