With Severe Shortage of Top-Notch Math and Science Grads Affecting Cap Region Businesses, Schumer Unveils Groundbreaking Initiative to Promote Math

With Severe Shortage Of Top-Notch Math And Science Grads Affecting Cap Region Businesses, Schumer Unveils Groundbreaking Initiative To Promote Math And Science Education

Senator Brings Together Tech Valley Business Leaders, Local Educators Who Cite The Need To Address The Decline In Math And Science Proficiency

Standing At Albany NanoTech, Schumer Announces ‘Math For America' Program To Recruit Best And Brightest To Become Math And Science Teachers

Schumer: Math And Science Skills Are Key To Upstate New York To Fully Benefit From The Emergenc

With a severe shortage of top-notch math and science graduates affecting Capital Region businesses, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to promote math and science education in the region and nationally. Schumer brought together Tech Valley business leaders and local educators who cited the need to address the decline in math and science proficiency. According to the National Science Board, the United States is falling behind other nations in math and science. Schumer unveiled his sweeping ‘Math for America' Program that will recruit the best and brightest graduates of math and science programs to become teachers, and improve their retention through better training and financial incentives.

"Too few students are entering careers in math and science," Schumer said. "The future of the entire Tech Valley region, from Westchester to Glens Falls, is rooted in a high technology economy. Honing our students' math and science skills is the key to maximizing the impact that this regional renaissance will have on native Upstaters, as well as to New York and America's continued prosperity in our global economy. Unfortunately, math and science teachers who have expertise in their subject area are offered lucrative positions in the private sector, and are forced to make personal sacrifices in order to be in the classroom. This legislation will help make sure we stay at the cutting edge of technology and remain the global leader in math and science."

With the Capital Region growing as the prime destination for high-tech jobs, it is critical that the workforce excel in math and science. The number one factor a business looks for when considering moving to an area is available skilled labor. The Capital Region and the entire country need more scientists and engineers in order to compete in a global economy. Schumer today stressed that math and science proficiency begin in the schools, and that teachers need tools and resources to fully prepare students. Data from the New York State Department of Education shows that in 2006, nearly 24 percent of fourth grade students in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady Counties did not meet the state standards for achievement in mathematics. Even more troubling, nearly 40 percent of eighth grade students did not meet the state standards.

The U.S. National Science Foundation cites that high-tech industry employment grew by 50 percent between 1990 and 2002, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that U.S. demand for science and engineering workers will grow at least three times as fast as the overall economy in the next ten years. Nowhere is that more evident than right here in the Hudson Valley and Capital Region where there are already over 50,000 high-tech jobs, including IBM in Poughkeepsie and GE Global Research Labs in Niskayuna. The Nanotechnology sector alone has created 4,000 jobs and $8 billion in public and private investment to date, and in just the last four years, Albany NanoTech has grown from 100 employees to almost 1,400. Estimates of job growth in the region vary from study to study, but it is certainly possible that in the next 20 years, Tech Valley could gain tens of thousands of new high tech jobs.

"For the first time in generations, a young person in the Upstate New York doesn't have to look elsewhere to start a career. There will be opportunities right here in the region. But the question is: Will they have the skill sets necessary to take full advantage of this new economy? Right now our children are lagging behind, and we must address this at once," Schumer said.

Schumer today unveiled the Mathematics and Science Teaching Corps Act of 2006 (MSTC, pronounced "mystic") S. 2248 and H.R. 4705, sponsored in the House by Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ). This bipartisan legislation creates a federal fellowship program to recruit, train and retain outstanding math and science teachers. The program will recruit aspiring and current teachers with strong content knowledge to represent approximately 20 percent of the nation's math and science teachers, and will provide them with the support, professional development, and financial incentives needed to retain them as essential assets in their school communities.

Prospective teachers with strong math and science backgrounds, as well as working teachers, are often lured away from teaching by more lucrative and prestigious opportunities in the private sector. In exchange for a four-year teaching commitment, MSTC will provide teaching certification in a one-year master's program for individuals who are highly skilled in math and science. Retention strategies will include district-level mentoring, professional development, and federal financial incentives. Under MSTC, current teachers will commit to teaching for five years and serve as leaders in their school, mentor new teachers and participate in professional development. They will also receive federal financial incentives to keep them from leaving the classroom for the private sector.

Schumer's legislation is based on three unique tenets:

1. National Standards for Participation. All applicants, whether aspiring or working teachers, must pass a National Academy of Science-approved standardized test of subject knowledge. In addition to strong knowledge of subject matter, candidates must demonstrate strong verbal skills and other attributes that are linked to effective teaching.

2. Financial Incentives. During their years in the program, all Corps members will receive stipends from the federal government in addition to their regular salaries. New teachers' stipends will begin at $11,000 and scale up to $20,000 during their four year teaching period, while working teachers' stipends will be set at $20,000 per year. Corps members teaching in hard-to-staff schools may receive further enhanced stipends.

3. Building Prestige and Respect Through a National Program. As members of a Teacher Corps, participants will experience a high level of enthusiasm and solidarity. In addition, the highly visible teacher corps will build prestige and respect for the field of math and science teaching.

MSTC is based on a successful program in New York City called the Newton Fellowship Program, which is operated by a non-profit organization called Math for America.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=265480&&year=2006&