The Indiana Department of Education wants to make it easier to become a STEM teacher.
The department announced Monday it is creating a new Indiana STEM Educator Expansion initiative that will fund tuition, books and material fees from prospective STEM teachers. That includes both for teachers licensed in other subject area and prospective teachers who are not licensed but have a bachelor’s degree.
The announcement comes as the IDOE pushes a series of initiatives to increase investments in STEM education, which centers on science, technology, engineering and math.
“In today’s technology-driven world, it has never been more important for every Indiana student to have access to high-quality STEM instruction,” Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said in a news release. “This starts with ensuring we have the very best and brightest educators in the classroom.”
Middle and high school math and life sciences were identified as teacher shortage areas last school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
State officials say they hope the new program, called I-STEM, can provide a pipeline in the same way recent special education and English-language learner initiatives have.
The I-STEM program will be administered by the Education Service Centers of Indiana in collaboration with iteach Indiana and is funded through $4.8 million in federal pandemic relief as well as other federal dollars dedicated to improving students’ academic achievement.
In addition to financial backing for books and tuition, the program will also offer $1,000 stipends to current teachers adding the STEM endorsement to their licensure. Prospective teachers can also receive $1,000 stipends for child care and licensure fees in addition to a $1,000 commitment stipend upon being hired in a STEM-related position and another $1,000 commitment stipend if hired in a rural district.
Content areas covered by the new STEM program include life science, chemistry, earth/space science, physics, physical science, computer science, technology education and mathematics.
For information about I-STEM is available at keepindianalearning.org/events/istem.
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