Our Journey

By 2027, PEBC aims to increase the number and diversity of STEM teachers prepared in the state of Colorado with the goal of preparing 75 STEM educators with 50% who identify as BIPOC, so that our program demographics mirror those of our state’s student demographics. To do this, PEBC will expand current recruitment and retention strategies, which includes intentionally embedding culturally responsive pedagogy into its curriculum and formally training PEBC mentor teachers on collaborative approaches to professional communication, focusing on supporting mentees’ thinking regarding planning, reflecting and problem-solving. PEBC will also continue work to remove barriers that disproportionately impact pre-service educators of color from entering the profession including:
· offering a free month of online Praxis Exam Prep to any candidate
· providing internal supports for diverse applicants
· providing access to Affinity Groups for residents and mentors who identify as BIPOC
· collaborating with partner school districts to identify a diverse pool of mentor teachers
· partnering with TEACH Colorado, an initiative of CDE, CDHE and PEBC. TEACH Colorado offers 1:1 application support and funding to offset the cost of taking the Praxis exam.””

PEBC provides top quality professional learning experiences, including workshops, lab classroom visits and customized coaching, that support STEM teachers’ confidence, competence and growth. Evaluation data shows that PEBC professional development increases teacher retention. In addition to our broadly available professional development, in the Denver area, we will cultivate a cadre of top quality exemplar teachers – our lab hosts – who gather throughout the year for shared learning and thrive on the support of colleagues. The opportunities provided to the lab hosts also improves their retention by offering clear opportunities for teacher leadership and growth. We are committed to supporting the retention of all teachers by honoring their time, their minds and their needs with high quality, customized professional development, offered both on site for schools and districts, as well as in Denver on a regular basis.

By 2027, PEBC aims to increase the number and diversity of STEM teachers prepared in the state of Colorado with the goal of preparing 75 of STEM educators with 50% who identify as BIPOC. To do that, PBEC will take a multi-year approach to increasing the diversity of teacher candidates in their program. In the 2022-23 school year, and continuing into the future as needed, PEBC will:
· Develop and implement a scalable resident recruitment marketing strategy tailored for individuals who identify as BIPOC by collaborating with the National Center for Teacher Residency and the Black Educator Initiative and other U.S. teacher residencies to understand promising practices in recruiting, with an intentional focus on racial diversity with a target of recruiting 34 residents (30% of total cohort) who identify as BIPOC for the 2023-24 school year
· Increase resident stipends to cover items such as the Praxis, training fees, and overall support to be paid out at certain program completion stages
· Create a mentor outreach and onboarding plan, for teachers who identify as BIPOC
· Increase the PEBC mentor stipend by more than 50% to increase the number of mentors who identify as BIPOC in the 2023-24 school year
· Improve the existing teacher residency curriculum with an equity audit

PEBC will continue to facilitate optional affinity groups for all teacher residents and teachers of record enrolled in our licensure program to foster belonging in our program. In 2021-22, affinity group members reported high levels of satisfaction with the support they received as participants in this group and we plan to continue supporting and growing affinity groups as a strategy to foster belonging.

Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) commits to continuing our partnership with TEACH Colorado to recruit educators statewide, offering them a variety of supports throughout the application process to certification programs as well as financial incentives to join the profession. PEBC also commits to sharing our residency model prep program, lessons learned from professional development focused on STEM identity and tools like PEBC’s Equity Indicators white paper with the field in service of Black, Latinx and Native American students’ belonging.

By 2027, PhET Interactive Simulations will establish a community of 400 K-12 pre-service and/or in-service STEM educators (at least 50% of which are BIPOC educators) who are certified in the equitable use of PhET resources and pedagogies. We will accomplish this by (a) co-designing an equity-centered framework for STEM education with PhET simulations, (b) continually revising an existing Virtual Workshop to be framework-aligned, (c) offering the Virtual Workshop to educators, in the context of communities of practice led by PhET Equity Advocates, and (d) measuring changes in teachers’ reported use of equity-centered practices, career intentionality, and sense of belonging to inform and improve our work.

Over the next five years, the Philadelphia Education Fund’s McKinney Center for STEM Education commits to support teachers in learning about a variety of topics including, but not limited to, NGSS/STEELs standards, project-based learning, and out-of-school time STEM programming with a focus on the needs of Black, Latinx, and/or Native American students. We will do this by offering roughly 100 hours of professional development to 100 teachers and educators per year and providing them with the tools and resources needed to develop their classes and programs. As part of our Philadelphia STEM Ecosystem, our STEM Teacher Talent Development Workgroup’s goal is to strengthen the STEM teacher pipeline and increase the number of diverse STEM educators serving Philadelphia students. The Workgroup is working on articulating pathways to teaching and facilitating early exposure to teaching for two high-priority groups – high school and college students. Lastly, our Philadelphia STEM Equity Collective is working on increasing the number of Black, Latinx, and women Philadelphians into STEM careers by 2030, which includes STEM Teachers as STEM Careers. As a result of all our initiatives, we expect to impact over 500 educators directly.

The Mind Over Music program is committed to supporting teachers to find satisfaction, excitement and efficacy in integrating music into K-12 STEM lessons. By 2027, the MoM program hopes to serve 10,800 K-12 students with a priority of serving students in Title I schools. Mind Over Music believes that this early success and joy in implementing STEM contributes to the retention of educators. Mind Over Music is designed to support teacher knowledge, instructional planning and practice, and assess music-integrated strategies to support STEM concepts.

The Mind Over Music program is committed to supporting teachers to find satisfaction, excitement and efficacy in integrating music into K-12 STEM lessons. The MOM program is working to pilot a program with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community School on the reservation to support Native American students and Native American teachers in the school. The pilot will include co-designing programming teachers to ensure the program is culturally affirming.

Prepared to Teach will develop a specific focus on recruiting, preparing, and retaining STEM educators from diverse backgrounds to teach in Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, aiming to raise STEM applicants from diverse backgrounds by 10%. By 2029, we will develop a statewide STEM teacher policy focus in at least two states, bring five committed partners who directly prepare teachers into the network, and document successful STEM teacher pathways in preparation programs and school systems. We will accomplish this by conducting national workshops for educator preparation programs, districts, and state policymakers, providing them with insights from leaders in the movement for paid teacher residencies, which can increase access for STEM teachers from diverse backgrounds; expanding our resources to include STEM teacher recruitment guides and suggested language for state policy; and facilitating relationships between our existing educator preparation program partners and Beyond100K. From confidence to graduation rates, paid teacher residencies have profound, generational impacts on communities. Our national network is excited to continue the work of expanding the pathway and ensuring each resident is prepared to teach!

By 2029, Project Invent will prepare 400 STEM teachers with 70% serving in schools that primarily serve Black, Latinx, and Native American students. To do this we will offer invention education training to pre-service educators, partner directly with districts and schools to train educators in our yearlong fellowship and support returning educators with Project Invent educator leadership opportunities.

By 2029, Project Lead The Way will support and train 17,500 new STEM teachers trained in Project Lead The Way to cultivate classrooms of STEM learning and belonging, with 35% of teachers serving in schools that primarily serve Black, Latinx, and Native American students. We will do this by aligning our partnership goals to strategic school investments and support measures leading to more trained educators in the schools serving students currently under-represented in STEM fields.

By 2027, Project Tomorrow will support 2,200 elementary teachers in the development of their competency, comfort and confidence in the integration of STEM problem solving strategies, notably computational thinking, across their curriculum and utilizing culturally responsive practices to enable a greater sense of belonging for Black, Latinx and Native American students. We believe that proficiency in computational thinking is an essential literacy for all students, regardless of home zip code or family heritage. Contextualizing computational thinking with a greater awareness of cultural identity in the classroom will help teachers individualize instruction and meet students’ needs. The result will be increased student self-efficacy and the development of sustainable learning skills that will help the students successfully navigate middle and high school. Project Tomorrow will achieve these results in partnership with high need schools serving Black, Latinx and Native American students in New York City, Michigan, Kentucky and California.

By 2027, Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative will at least double the number of highly paid advanced roles for STEM teachers, including Multi-Classroom Leader positions to provide 1,000 opportunities for STEM teachers. 75% of the highly paid advanced roles we add will be in schools serving a majority of Black, Latinx, and/or Native American students. The positions help keep excellent STEM educators in the profession by giving them a way to advance in their careers and earn more, while continuing to teach.

By 2027, Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative will at least double the number of highly paid advanced roles for STEM teachers, including Multi-Classroom Leader positions to provide 1,000 opportunities for STEM teachers. At least 40% of those holding the highly paid advanced roles we will add will be Black, Latinx, and/or Native American teachers. The positions help keep excellent STEM educators who identify as Black, Latinx and/or Native American in the profession by giving them a way to advance in their careers and earn more, while continuing to teach.

Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative will supply the Beyond100K Network and the broader field with information, tools, and resources to help school systems create highly paid advanced roles for STEM teachers, including Multi-Classroom Leader positions. The positions help keep excellent STEM educators in the profession by giving them a way to advance in their careers and earn more, while continuing to teach. Public Impact will compile information, tools, and resources on creating highly paid advanced roles for STEM teachers and disseminate these tools to the network and the field. These tools will be highly relevant to schools serving a majority of Black, Latinx, and/or Native American students. Currently, more than 90% of schools using these models are Title I eligible. Public Impact will compile information, tools, and resources on creating highly paid advanced roles for STEM teachers and disseminate these tools to the network and the field. These tools will help the field retain more Black, Latinx, and Native American STEM teachers by offering well-compensated career advancement opportunities that allow them to support other educators and reach more students.

By 2027, Reach University aims to train nearly 5,000 teachers that identify as BIPOC with nearly half of these 5,000 educators serving in STEM classrooms.

To foster belonging in our program, Reach University will add a program learning outcome that ALL aspiring educator candidates will be immersed in the tenets of equity in teaching (inclusion and belonging).

By 2027, Relay commits to preparing an additional 3,000 STEM teachers via our high-quality Master’s degree and certification programs. We strive for over 60% of our teaching candidates to self-identify as a person of color. We will reach these metrics by forging new partnerships with PreK-12 schools across the country in addition to joining collaborative networks such as Beyond100K. We will continue to innovate on our current program offerings to ensure we expand the number and diversity of the STEM teachers across our Relay Teaching Residency program, Master of Arts in Teaching program, and Alternative Certification pathways. Relay commits to ensuring that all of our teaching candidates are able to serve PreK-12 students from all backgrounds by building on our culturally responsive teaching practices. We strive to ensure our teaching candidates reflect the students we serve and over 60% of Relay teaching candidates self-identify as a person of color. While we pride ourselves on the diversity of our teaching cohort, we know that our DEIA work is not done. In AY2022-23, we will launch an updated curriculum that is rooted in culturally responsive teaching as a foundation for all Relay coursework. We commit to having 30% of Relay teaching candidates enrolled in this updated, more culturally responsive curriculum in AY2022-23, and 100% engaging in this updated curriculum in AY2023-24.

By 2027 Rider will prepare 250 STEM teachers, 24% who identify as Black, Latinx or Native American. To do this, Rider is creating a new specialization in STEM teaching. Our graduates work in a variety of schools in the nation. Our program includes elements that address diverse student populations and all candidates receive placements in a variety of districts as part of the program.

Rider University College of Education and Human Services is committed to recruiting and preparing 250 STEM teachers over the next 5 years for academically, linguistically and racially diverse P-12 schools. We are committed to expanding and diversifying our applicant pool through expanded partnerships with local school districts and community organizations, targeted outreach to potential candidates, and enhanced recruitment efforts with the goal of 24% or more of our teacher candidates identifying as Black, LatinX and/or Native American by 2027.

Commitment Statement Coming Soon

Commitment Statement Coming Soon

By the end of 2023, the majority (>60%) of Science Friday’s coverage addressing issues that disproportionately affect marginalized communities will involve the input, voice, questions, or expertise of members of those communities in all aspects of production. These stories will be translated into monthly news-topic-aligned, short, STEM activities that can be used in both formal and informal settings. This creates a pipeline where stories about Black, Latina, and Native Americans in STEM are highlighted and reported on by professionals from their communities. We plan to reach 5,000 children per month by the end of 2023, and then grow by 20% each subsequent year. By the end of 2027, we will expand the diversity of voices among our contributing educators, facilitators, and subject matter experts that develop Science Friday educational resources for both formal and informal education. We are committed to creating a platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American STEM teachers to share their knowledge and voices so that they can connect with, engage with, and ultimately lead our growing community of STEM educators. Starting in 2023, we will grow this active community to over 2,000 educators and facilitators and develop at least 16 new STEM education activities per year in addition to bi-weekly offerings for caregivers and informal educators.

By 2027, Science is Elementary (SiE) will develop and provide professional learning to 400 PK-2nd grade teachers, based on our SiE Books, which foster a sense of belonging in science. SiE Books, targeted at pre- and emerging readers, feature Black and LatinX children who use science and engineering to solve problems they encounter in their everyday life and encourage students to foster a sense of belonging in science. In less than two years, we’ve distributed over 20,000 SiE Books + science kits to Black and LatinX children and hope to distribute 250,000 more by 2027. Our professional learning will provide teachers tools to enhance their students’ sense of belonging in science. We plan to expand our reach through connections and partnerships made through the Beyond100K network.

Over the next five years, the Smithsonian Science Education Center is committed to support up to 20 leadership teams annually to create an action plan to recruit and/or retain Black, Latinx, Native American STEM teachers in their schools, districts, regions or states. Leadership teams will include a cross section of decision and change makers from the school, district, region or state they represent and must include at least one teacher. Teams will be paired with a mentor who will support the team’s efforts during the development of the action plan at a convening and the implementation of the plan for 18 months after the convening. Teams and mentors will formally report their progress quarterly during the 18 months of implementation and informally as the work continues beyond 18 months. These teams will add to the growing network of teams who have participated in this work beginning in 2017.

South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science commits to supporting teacher retention by adding 10 South Carolina teachers to the STEM Educator of the Year recognition program which provides grant awards for teacher’s STEM Initiatives. Teacher leadership has been shown to support teacher retention, increased job satisfaction and improved learning environments and we have designed our program with this evidence in mind. South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science has placed a priority on engaging with schools serving students historically underrepresented in STEM as indicated by Title I status and/or specified student demographics. We are committed to reviewing and revising our recruitment, application and selection processes to ensure that our applicant pool reflects this commitment.

South Carolina’s teaching workforce little resembles the students it serves. Nearly 80% of teachers identify as “white” while over 50% of students do not. SCCMS prioritizes engaging with schools serving students historically underrepresented in STEM. Our long-term goal is that our STEM teacher leadership cadre resembles the student population. Our commitment is to track demographics of our leadership cadre, refine our process for invitation, and engage our network of STEM Education Specialists to make personal invitations to qualified and underrepresented teachers.

STEP is committed to recruiting and preparing 200 STEM teachers over the next 5 years for academically, linguistically and racially diverse P12 schools. STEP is committed to expanding and diversifying its applicant pool through creative partnerships, enhanced outreach efforts, and focused recruitment strategies with the goal of 40% or more of STEM teachers identifying as Black, Latinx and/or Native American by 2027.

STEP commits to implementing strategies such as targeted recruitment, community and organizational partnerships, expanding financial supports, and other measures to advance the number and diversity of STEM teachers completing its program. STEP commits to advancing the number of Black, Latinx and/or Native American educators who graduate from STEP and go on to work in racially, academically, linguistically and racially diverse P12 schools with the goal of 20+ out of 44 STEM graduates identifying as Black, Latinx and/or Native American by 2027.

By 2029, STEM4Real will support 500 of TK-12 STEM educators to cultivate classrooms of STEM belonging with a focus on the needs of Black, Latinx, and/or Native American students through Lesson Study Cycles of case study student analysis, 3D5E instructional design, observation, analysis of student work, and sharing of best practices. As a result of these efforts, educators will create culturally responsive and socially just lessons and students will increase attendance, increase performance on formative assessments and state summative assessments in science. This will impact learning for 35,000 of TK-12 students over five years.