Building Capacity for Critical Need STEM and Special Education Teachers in Southeast Arkansas

该项目旨在满足国家对发展STEM教师效率和在高需求学区留住教师的研究能力的需求。该能力建设项目旨在开展研究，通过为提交未来有竞争力的Noyce Track 4研究提案提供数据的活动，帮助解决阿肯色州东南部的教师短缺问题。它打算在少数民族服务机构（MSI）建立机构能力，与该机构更广泛的历史教育使命保持一致，以响应国家和地区的社会和经济需求。该项目将加强与主要的州教育教师效率和执照机构、12个高需求的地方教育机构（LEAs）、2个地方和区域教育服务合作社以及2个开放注册的公立特许学校的实质性合作和伙伴关系，以促进知识共享，帮助解决阿肯色州东南部的教师短缺问题。该项目还旨在确定推动STEM教师管道和提高高需求LEAs教师保留率的最佳实践。阿肯色大学派恩布拉夫分校（UAPB）是一所1890年的公共综合土地赠款机构，也是阿肯色州历史上的黑人学院和大学（HBCU），该项目将利用基于社区的参与式研究（CBPR）模型来确定该项目在研究STEM教师有效性和保留方面有用的数据。项目活动和具体行动包括加强LEA以社区为基础的伙伴关系以及MSI与教育合作社、高需求学区和开放招生的公立特许学校之间的合作关系，这些学校每年都在努力填补K-12急需的STEM教师和特殊教育教师职位。在能力建设年度，该项目将确定和审查有助于保留有色人种STEM和特殊教育教师的因素，包括学校经验。该项目将召开“关键需求STEM和特殊教育教师能力建设会议”，该会议将召集地区、州和国家层面的教育工作者和管理人员，分析可能导致阿肯色州东南部高需求LEAs中关键需求教师流失的更广泛的背景因素（机构和公共目标）。该项目还将提供重要的基线数据，并为MSI提供能力建设，以确保提交有竞争力的第4轨道研究提案所需的关键伙伴关系和支持。这项工作的更广泛影响包括，其他msi有可能建立其机构能力，改善其教师教育计划，并通过有意规划加强社区伙伴关系、合作和支持，以解决教师短缺的关键需求。能力建设项目由罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金项目提供支持。(诺伊斯)。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师，并支持经验丰富的模范K-12教师成为高需求学区的STEM大师教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM教师的有效性和留任率的研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project aims to serve the national need for developing research capacity regarding STEM teacher effectiveness and retention in high-need school districts. This Capacity Building project seeks to conduct research that will assist in addressing teacher shortages in Southeast Arkansas through activities to provide data for submitting a future competitive Noyce Track 4 Research proposal. It intends to build institutional capacity at a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) aligned with the broader historic educational mission of the institution to respond to the social and economic needs of the state and region. The project will strengthen substantive collaborations and partnerships with the lead state education teacher effectiveness and licensure agency, twelve (12) high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), two (2) local and regional educational service cooperatives, and two (2) open enrollment public charter schools to promote knowledge sharing to help address critical need teacher shortages in Southeast Arkansas. This project also intends to identify best practices that drive STEM teacher pipelines and improve teacher retention in high-need LEAs.The project at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), a public comprehensive 1890 land grant institution and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Arkansas, will utilize a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model to identify data that the project will find useful in studying STEM teacher effectiveness and retention. Project activities and specific actions include strengthening LEA community-based partnerships and collaborative relationships among an MSI and educational cooperatives, high-need school districts, and open enrollment public charter schools that struggle to fill K-12 critical need STEM teacher and Special Education teacher positions each academic year. During the Capacity Building year, the project will identify and examine factors, including school experiences, that contribute to the retention of STEM and Special Education teachers of color. The project will convene a “Critical Needs STEM and Special Education Teacher Capacity Building Conference” that will engage regional, state, and national level educators and administrators to analyze the broader contextual factors (agentic and communal goals) that may cause critical need teacher attrition within high-need LEAs in Southeast Arkansas. This project will also provide important baseline data and build capacity for an MSI to secure the critical partnerships and support needed to submit a competitive Track 4 Research Proposal. The broader impact of this work includes the potential for other MSIs to build their institutional capacities, improve their teacher education programs, and through intentional planning strengthen community-based partnerships, collaborations, and support to address critical need teacher shortages. The Capacity Building project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.