School of Education and Psychology receives $900,000 grant from the Mississippi State Department of Education to train mathematics teachers
Alcorn State University School of Education and Psychology has received a $900,000 grant from the Mississippi State Department of Education (MDE) to provide high quality professional development to mathematics teachers and to close the mathematics achievement gap in high needs Mississippi school districts.
Over the next three years, Alcorn’s School of Education and Psychology will work with teachers from area schools conducting year round professional development including a summer mathematics institute. Innovative integration of the new mathematics career and college readiness standards will be important aspects of the project. The grant will fund targeted professional development for three cohorts of 50 teachers over the next three years.
Dean Robert Z. Carr Jr. has faith in the project’s ability to increase the mathematic abilities of students.
“I believe that this project will reinforce the importance of the mathematics college and career readiness standards,” said Carr. “The historical lack of depth and authentic university and school partnerships has been the cause of some of today’s challenges in American education. We have an opportunity to demonstrate how alignment of the standards and providing teachers with useful strategies will be part of the solution in creating an inclusive environment for mathematics instruction.”
Alcorn will use this opportunity to train more highly effective secondary mathematics teachers who will inspire, engage and excite new generations of students about mathematics. Carr looks forward to the opportunity for educators to increase their knowledge of mathematics standards.
“I am very excited about Alcorn being awarded the grant to fund the Braves Mathematics Teachers Academy. I am especially grateful that the University, under President Alfred Rankins Jr. and Provost Donzell Lee’s leadership, is demonstrating its commitment to P-12 education, specifically STEM education, by supporting this endeavor.”
