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2011 Arizona Grantee Abstract List

Grantee Name:Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona
Project Name:Southern Arizona Inducting New Teachers (SAINT)
Project Director:Cody Patterson  512-970-2691
Partner Districts/LEAs:Tucson Unified School District

Project Abstract

Southern Arizona Inducting New Teachers (SAINT) is a collaboration between two programs of The University of Arizona - the Teach Arizona Master's Program and the Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers (CRR) - and Tucson Unified School District to increase the number of highly qualified middle and high school mathematics teachers in the Tucson area.

Project Activities

Teach Arizona, with the assistance of CRR, will recruit both recent college graduates and mid-career professionals into its one-year master's degree program in Teaching and Teacher Education. Upon completion of the program, participants will be eligible for teacher certification. CRR will work with high-need LEAs to ensure that program participants are placed in high-need schools. During their first year of teaching, participants will take part in CRR's Induction Program, a one-year ongoing professional development program that provides weekend workshops and pairs participants with experienced teacher coaches. During their second and third years, participants will continue to attend CRR teacher workshops and teacher math circles, including the Doing Mathematics And Implementing New Standards (DOMAINS) workshops, which will assist teachers in developing instructional strategies for the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. During their second year, teachers will form professional learning communities under the supervision of CRR. Each teacher will receive a $5000 provisional monetary award upon entry into the program.

Project Goals and Participants:

The goal of the SAINT program is to recruit and induct an average of ten candidates per year for five years, producing a total of fifty highly qualified middle and high school mathematics teachers. The program also intends to engage participants in high-quality teacher preparation and professional development designed to help them maximize student engagement and achievement and connect them to a thriving community of outstanding mathematics teachers who continually seek to renew and enhance both their content knowledge and teaching practices. Participants in the program will be recent college graduates and mid-career professionals with undergraduate degrees in mathematics, science, technology, and engineering who enroll in the Teach Arizona Master's Program. In order to meet recruitment targets, CRR may also seek out participants who are not enrolled in Teach Arizona but have entered the teaching profession through alternative pathways and are teaching on provisional, temporary, or emergency licenses.

Grantee Name:Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona
Project Name:The University of Arizona South Transition to Teaching
Project Director:Henrietta Kralovec  520-458-8278
Partner Districts/LEAs:Benson, Naco, Douglas, Elfrida, Tombstone, Wilcox, Bowie and Nogales (Rural)

Project Abstract

The University of Arizona South, in collaboration with seven schools from the Borderlands Consortium, a group of high-need, rural, border school districts in southeastern Arizona, has developed a Transition to Teachers program to recruit and retain 115 teachers in direct response to the needs of the project’s partnering schools. Students will be recruited from four target groups: returning military personnel, paraprofessionals, recent Hispanic graduates, and graduates who come from the two-county program area; each representing either midcareer professionals or recent graduates. Students will be selected based on interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or other high-need subject areas, willingness to teach for at least three years in a partner school, and tested surveys which show great success in identifying potential teachers. University of Arizona South will support students with both accelerated and alternative tracks to a Master’s in Education with a certificate to teach at the secondary school level. In addition to traditional academic studies, specialized courses and workshops, such as “From the Military to the Classroom: Making a Successful Transition” and “Teaching on the Border in Rural Arizona,” will be presented. With a focus on classroom internships and online coursework students will receive technology and professional development stipends as well as support with State testing preparation and STEM subject workshops and institutes. Upon graduation, students will enjoy priority placement opportunities with partner schools and receive ongoing professional development opportunities, teacher mentorships, and peer support programs. Program structure is based on the successes of previously funded programs as indicated in the “Transition to Teaching Program Evaluation Interim Report on the FY 2004 Grantees,” 2009 and adheres to Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).


 
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Last Modified: 11/21/2011