Higher Ed Commission Awards STEM Recruitment Grants

To help prepare future educators to teach STEM subject areas, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education has awarded nearly $10 million to 16 schools and organizations to support those efforts. The money is being awarded to programs that place high-quality teachers in schools in high-need school districts.

“The careers fueling Indiana’s economy and future growth require STEM-related skills and experience,” said Indiana’s Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers.

The STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund was created by the General Assembly in 2013 to address the shortage of high-quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers in Indiana school corporations.

“Training more Hoosier teachers in these subject areas and ensuring they are working in schools that have a shortage of those subject areas is critical to the goal of having more Hoosiers prepared to succeed in high-demand STEM fields,” said Lubbers.

The funding helps pay for coursework, supporting mentorship programs and offering teacher training models. The commission says this is the fourth round of grant funding for this program.

Here is a list of the 2019 STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund Award Recipients:

• Conexus Indiana: $200,000
• Independent Colleges of Indiana/Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning: $2.4 million
• Nextech: $600,000
• Purdue Research Foundation: $555,000 (two programs)
• Teach for America: $2.25 million
• University of Southern Indiana Foundation: $440,000 (two programs):
• Project Lead The Way: $700,000
• Ball State University Foundation – Hoosier STEM Academy: $602,000
• University of Evansville: $110,000
• Indiana University Foundation: $1,075,000  (two programs)
• TNTP: $257,000
• Educate ME Foundation: $172,000
• Marian University: $240,000