Philadelphia STEM teacher fellow program
by Timothy Boyle on May 06 2010 Posted in Boyle's law
The District is in the process of applying for a state grant to build a three-year STEM fellow program. This program would take on three cohorts a year and provide teachers with graduate level instruction in STEM topics. Applications are being accepted now, and the District expects to hear if the grant is approved within a few weeks.The District will find out soon if it can offer a new professional development opportunity to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers.
Local universities St. Joseph's, Temple, and the University of Pennsylvania have all signed on to create the graduate course component of the fellowship. Each school would lead a targeted group of Philadelphia teachers in a free summer graduate course. A goal has been set of three cohorts (30 teachers each) for the areas of high school science, high school mathematics, and integrated middle school (grades four through eight).
Starting this summer, those admitted to the program would begin an 80-hour summer program taught by professors of physics, astronomy, chemisty, mathematics, engineering and applied sciences, and biology. Once the school year begins, teachers would receive follow-up instruction on how to implement knowledge learned in their summer courses into their classrooms. The School
Check out the big budget book
If you have an appetite for numbers, you might want to dig into the District's 431-page budget book, just posted on the District's website in time for upcoming City Council hearings next Monday and Tuesday at City Hall.