Four Salamanca High School teachers are in their second year working toward obtaining a second master’s degree through the The University of Rochester’s (UR) Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development. They’ll be working in partnership with the College of Arts & Sciences which has received a five-year $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program is designed to strengthen science and math teaching and learning in high-need schools in western New York.
This new project, “Developing Digitally-Rich Urban Teacher Leaders: Fostering and Sustaining a STEM Culture of Belonging, Access, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” (abbreviated as “Be-A-JEDI”), will provide graduate coursework, mentored experiences, and professional learning to 19 Master Teaching Fellows over five years. The intention is to prepare teacher leaders to serve as agents of change in STEM teaching, emphasizing digitally-rich practices in science and math.
Three Salamanca math teachers (Mallory Ferrucci, Kristen McLhinney, and Jennifer Ball) and one science teacher (Judy Pickett) will spend the next four years immersed in “… issues of equity and inclusion for all students in STEM…” while making STEM courses more accessible to students in the district (Cynthia Callard of the Warner School). The district fully supports the training of staff to meet the diverse needs of students to help them be competitive beyond high school.
For more information regarding the program and grant visit UR Noyce “Be-A-JEDI” project.