Science and Math in Arizona Rural Teaching (SMART) Fellows Planning Proposal

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Rio Salado College and Northcentral University, in partnership with high-needs school districts in rural Arizona and non-profit organizations that support STEM education (including the Arizona Business and Education Coalition, and the Arizona Rural Schools Association), are planning the development of the Science and Math in Arizona Rural Teaching (SMART) Fellows program, an articulated teacher preparation and master's degree program for STEM professionals transitioning to teaching careers in mathematics and science in rural schools. Rio Salado College's successful, state-approved Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Preparation Program is providing the foundation of the teacher preparation program component of the articulated SMART Fellows program, and Northcentral University's successful Master's in Education is contributing the foundation of the master's degree component of the program. An existing articulation agreement is facilitating the development and regulatory approval of the program. During this planning phase, the partnership is 1) identifying partner school districts and additional partner non-profit organizations that can provide substantial and meaningful support for the recruitment, training, and/or support activities in the program; 2) identifying best practices and successful approaches previous NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grantees have utilized for recruiting, training, and supporting STEM professionals transitioning to teaching careers; 3) completing the final stages of development of an evidence-based articulated teacher preparation and master's degree program for training and supporting SMART Fellows; 4) identifying potential sources of matching funds and obtaining commitments for these funds; and 5) developing a comprehensive grant proposal for the NSF Teaching Fellowship track of the 2011 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. The planning group is in addition developing a program of professional support to assist SMART Fellows throughout the four-year teaching commitment, and this program incorporates contributions from Intel® Teach and three NSF-funded non-profit centers (the Maricopa County Community College Center for Workforce Development, the Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center, and the National Center for Teacher Education) that support STEM education through resource development and professional development. The planning award is facilitating these activities through support for a full-time Teaching Fellowship Planning Manager and multiple planning sessions involving representatives from all partner organizations. Specifically focused on training STEM teachers for rural schools, the SMART Fellows program would be the first combined teacher preparation and master's program in Arizona offered through a partnership between a community college and four-year university.