Bemidji State receives $1.2M grant for STEM teacher training

BEMIDJI — Bemidji State University's program for math and science teacher training will receive a $1.26 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

The new round of funding from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program will go toward financial support, peer support and other training for BSU students’ final two years of study. In a news release, BSU said its Noyce program also provides additional support for graduates settling into their first classrooms.

Mathematics Associate Professor Jenna O’Dell said the grant provides unique opportunities for students.

"This grant will provide the full cost of attendance, including a living stipend," O'Dell said. "And then to repay the grant, they get to teach in a high-need school for four years."

Todd Frauenholtz, professor of mathematics, said the peer support students receive through the STEM program-specific learning community is an important aspect of the program.

"We know a STEM degree can be challenging, and research has shown that when students are part of a learning community they're more likely to graduate," he said.

A 2016 report from the Minnesota Education Policy Innovation Center said chemistry, mathematics and physics classrooms were among the 10 most challenging teaching positions for the state’s school districts.

BSU’s STEM-specific teaching program welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2021, focusing exclusively on preparing math teachers. It has since expanded to include students interested in teaching any STEM discipline.

"When we talked to principals and superintendents, they said they still needed math teachers — and also needed science teachers," O'Dell said in the release. "One superintendent in our county said they hadn't been able to hire a science teacher in the last five years. So we thought it was really important — even though we're both math people — to include all of STEM."

Of the first 20 students to go through BSU’s program, Frauenholtz noted in the release, 18 are currently teaching in Minnesota K-12 classrooms.