Aja Sor, a psychology major who is among the first cohort of Drexel students teaching in the DragonsTeach Middle Years program, helped to announce a $1.2 million program grant in March.
STEM teaching and learning got a boost in March when Drexel’s DragonsTeach Middle Years program received a $1.2 million grant from the Philadelphia School Partnership.
DragonsTeach Middle Years allows students in any major to graduate with a middle school teaching certification, while gaining experience teaching science, technology, engineering and math subjects in local public schools.
The funds enable the University to train 40 graduates each year to serve as middle school STEM teachers in Philadelphia, beginning with the first cohort in 2020.
The program works its courses into students’ free electives so they don’t need to make any major changes to their academic plans.
“We have a rare opportunity to help meet the School District of Philadelphia’s need for middle school math and science teachers,” says President John Fry. “In addition, we’ll be able to launch Drexel graduates on rewarding careers, and we’ll also be able to develop an intensive teacher training program that hopefully, if we’re good at what we do, will serve as a national model.”