Van Hollen, Cardin, Hoyer, Brown, and Raskin Announce $296,041 for Partnership to Train STEM Educators

Funding Will Support Joint UMD-College Park, Montgomery College, Prince George’s Community College Effort

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Anthony Brown, and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.) issued the following statement announcing $296,041 in funding for a collaborative project between the University of Maryland (UMD) College Park, Montgomery College, and Prince George’s Community College from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The joint project aims to encourage students to consider a career as a STEM teacher, increase awareness of STEM teaching as an option, and create pathways from community college coursework into university STEM teacher preparation programs.

“Passionate, well-prepared teachers are crucial to our students’ success. We need educators who can champion STEM learning and engage our students on these important subjects,” the Members said. “This funding will foster an essential partnership between three of Maryland’s great institutions of higher education and will bolster our state’s efforts to recruit and train STEM teachers. In Congress, we will continue working to expand resources for STEM education and to ensure our students and teachers have the tools they need to succeed.”

The NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense.”  The NSF is the funding source for approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing. This grant was awarded through their Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources program.

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