A second group of six East Central University students has been awarded Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships in mathematics worth $30,000 each.
The students, who will receive $10,000 for up to three years while they work toward bachelor’s degrees in mathematics with a secondary teacher certification option, are Bobby Carnes of Konawa, Chris Eckler of Shawnee, Matthew Harding of Pauls Valley, Simmon Harjo of Okemah, Stephanie Maas of McAlester and Andrae Tramble of Shawnee.
Noyce Scholars also will receive additional educational opportunities and support mechanisms such as colloquia, master-mentor teachers, undergraduate research opportunities and travel expenses to attend conferences.
They are selected by faculty members in ECU's Mathematics and Education Departments from students with a strong academic background in mathematics who otherwise would not consider teaching K-12 mathematics as a career.
In return, scholarship recipients commit to teach high school mathematics for six years in a “high-need” school district in Oklahoma.
The scholarships are funded through a $900,000 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Grant awarded to ECU by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The first eight students were selected last year and the final group will be named in 2012.
Dr. Robert Ferdinand, acting chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and principal author of the grant proposal, said the students will begin teaching mathematics in grades 7-12 in one of the collaborating schools after they graduate.
Ada, Allen, Byng, Latta, Seminole, Sulphur and Vanoss High Schools have committed to consider hiring teachers who graduate in the program.
High-need schools have at least one of these characteristics: a high percentage of students from families with below poverty-line incomes, a high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in the content area in which they were trained to teach and/or a high teacher turnover rate.
For information about the scholarships, contact Dr. Robert Ferdinand at 580-559-5285 or rferdand@ecok.edu.