February 22, 2006
Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Invites Groups to Apply for
Grants to Train More Math and Science Teachers
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today invited eligible organizations to compete for $13.2 million dollars in California Mathematics and Science Partnership (CaMSP) program grants.
The funds must be used to establish partnerships among qualified organizations to help boost student achievement in math and science by providing ongoing training for teachers in these fields.
"These grants will help us meet a critical need for excellent math and science teachers in California's classrooms," said O'Connell. "By developing top quality teacher programs and encouraging more math and science majors to consider teaching careers, we can better prepare students for the real-world demands of the 21st century."
The math and science grants will supplement O'Connell's proposed Developing Highly Qualified Teachers and Administrators Initiative that he introduced earlier this month during his 2006 State of Education Address.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act, Title II, Part B is the funding source for the CaMSP grants. Currently funded CaMSP programs are not eligible to apply for additional funding. This third round of funding for eligible applicants, or cohort 3, is designed to provide long-term professional learning activities to the teachers in this cohort over multiple years.
Eligible organizations must form educational partnerships among: a "high-need" local educational agency; engineering, math, or science department of a university; nonprofit private schools; county offices of education, public charter schools, public or private elementary or secondary schools, or a consortium of them; business or industry organization; another engineering, math, science, or teacher education department of a university; nonprofit or for-profit organization with a proven track record of improving the quality of math and science teachers; or local parent organizations.
A "high-need" local educational agency is defined as serving a student population where at least 40 percent of the pupils qualify for the National School Lunch Program. CaMSP is an in-depth professional development program for classroom teachers to enhance their knowledge and teaching skills of math and science through professional learning activities. Ultimately, the program is designed to increase the academic achievement of financially disadvantaged students in math (grade five through algebra I) and science (grades four through eight).
Eligible partnerships must file their applications by March 30, 2006. California Department of Education staff will select a panel to review the applicants and will score them based on their vision and goals, action plan, evaluation plan, partnership management plan, and institutional change and program sustainability. Once the winning applicants are notified of their grant amount, their progress in administering the funds will be monitored, and they must fulfill reporting requirements in order to receive their full funding amount. For an application, please visit Introduction - Mathematics.
For more information on O'Connell's Developing Highly Qualified Teachers and Administrators Initiative, please visit Developing Highly Qualified Teachers and Administrators Initiative (16-Feb-2006; DOC; 125KB; 17pp.) | PDF (16-Feb-2006; 100KB; 17pp.).
