Robert noyce teacher scholarship program track 1 project: building a stronger stem teacher pipeline in texas

St. Mary's University of San Antonio has been awarded $236,435 under the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Track 1 (CFDA 47.076, STEM Education) by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2030. This project grant supports the preparation of highly qualified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers to address the national need for qualified educators in high-need school districts. The primary deliverables include scholarships and stipends for 14 scholars pursuing K-12 teacher certification in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science, coupled with comprehensive teacher preparation and support services.

The project provides place-based experiential learning opportunities centered on the San Antonio River, peer coaching, and job search support services designed to enhance teacher preparation effectiveness and retention. Through a strategic partnership with San Antonio Independent School District, the project will produce highly qualified STEM educators with relevant content knowledge and pedagogical expertise. The award includes iterative evaluation of scholar recruitment and retention, assessment of key program components' effectiveness, and dissemination of results to enhance the broader field of STEM teacher preparation. No sub-awards are planned for this grant.

Abstract

This noyce track 1 project at ST. Mary?s university in SAN antonio, texas aims to serve the national need of preparing highly qualified stem teachers in the state of texas. This project will support 14 scholars seeking k-12 teacher certification in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science. The key components of this project, including place-based experiential learning opportunities focused on the SAN antonio river, will enable high-achieving prospective k-12 teachers to become effective stem educators with relevant content and pedagogy expertise. In addition, this project features a partnership with SAN antonio independent school district, a high-need school district in texas. This project will be iteratively evaluated. First, the recruitment and retention of noyce scholars will be evaluated. Second, the effectiveness of key project components, including the place-based experiential learning experiences, peer coaching, and job search supports will be evaluated for the ways in which they contributed to teacher preparation and retention. In addition, the job search supports will also be evaluated. The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. This track 1: scholarships and stipends project is supported through the robert noyce teacher scholarship program (noyce). The noyce program supports talented stem undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective k-12 stem teachers and experienced, exemplary k-12 teachers to become stem master teachers in high-need school districts. IT also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of k-12 stem teachers in high-need school districts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.