Math and science educators are facing a loss in their federal funding for professional development due to changes made in the new K-12 education act. This act created a block grant that includes funds from a program aimed at improving the skills of these teachers. Advocates for math and science teachers argue that these changes effectively eliminate dedicated federal funding for their education. They have made a plea for help in lobbying for a new mathematics and science program, but this effort was unsuccessful in changing the provision in the "No Child Left Behind" Act signed by President Bush.
Under the new law, math and science teachers will now have to compete for professional development assistance from a $2.85 billion block grant, putting them in competition with teachers of other subjects and efforts to reduce class sizes. The previous program, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program, guaranteed a significant portion of its funding to math and science teachers. Congress established a new demonstration grant to enhance the skills of these teachers, but fell far short by only appropriating $12.5 million of the $450 million math and science advocates had requested.
Many lobbyists are concerned about the lack of funding for the new math and science program, claiming that $12.5 million is not sufficient. However, federal officials believe that districts will continue to allocate block grant funds for math and science professional development because they recognize the importance of improving teachers’ skills in these subjects. Math and science advocates are doubtful that their teachers will receive the same level of support as they did under the Eisenhower program, as they believe that reading and math programs are receiving more funding and science is being squeezed out in elementary schools.
Throughout 2001, math and science advocates worked to avoid this situation. They supported President Bush’s proposal to include the Eisenhower program in the block grant and replace it with new math and science partnerships. These partnerships would require collaborations between colleges and school districts to provide sustained professional development for teachers. However, the funding for these partnerships was not sufficient. The House version of the education bill allocated $450 million from the block grant for math and science partnerships, while the Senate version separated them from the block grant but authorized spending up to $900 million. In the end, the partnerships were separated from the block grant without adequate funding, receiving only $12.5 million.
Without a significant amount of funding set aside for the new partnerships, math and science teachers will have to compete with teachers from other subjects for professional development support. This is concerning because math and science teachers are more likely to be teaching subjects they didn’t major in during college. As a result, they have less training in these subjects compared to their colleagues in reading and other subjects.
In conclusion, the changes in the K-12 education act have resulted in a loss of dedicated federal funding for math and science teachers’ professional development. They now have to compete for assistance from a block grant, which has inadequate funding for the new math and science partnerships. Advocates for these subjects are concerned about the lack of support and the potentially negative impact on the quality of math and science education in schools.
NSF’s New Role
Furthermore, the Department of Education is collaborating closely with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to ensure that their respective math and science initiatives do not have overlapping efforts, according to Ms. Sclafani. In order to revive the NSF program, Congress has allocated $160 million. The Math/Science Partnerships program will invite teams comprised of universities and school districts to submit grant proposals. These teams will commit to enhancing the capabilities of math and science educators who have not received proper training on teaching these subjects. Grant recipients will also be expected to contribute towards increasing the enrollment of high school students in advanced math and science courses. Judith A. Ramaley, the NSF’s assistant director for education and human resources, clarified this requirement.
