Celebration Banquet Wraps Up Second Year of UC Partnership to Recruit New Math Teachers

A $255,000 Ohio Board of Regents-funded partnership led by the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Cincinnati Public Schools and the Princeton City School District will celebrate the completion of their program to get students started on a career in STEMM education. The celebration banquet will take place from 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, in the ballroom of the Kingsgate Conference Center.

The 44 high school students who completed the second annual Southwest Ohio Secondary Teaching Academy, their families and the instructors involved in the partnership will take part in the celebration which includes a buffet dinner, remarks and recognition of the partnership’s students, teachers and parents.

The Southwest Ohio Secondary Teaching Academy is one of eight OBR-funded academies around the state to recruit high school students into the high-demand science, technology, engineering, math and medical (STEMM) disciplines. The Cincinnati partnership focused on recruiting underrepresented students, primarily African-American and urban Appalachian students, into becoming future math teachers.

On completing the program, the students earn three college credit hours from a pre-calculus course, receive a top-of-the-line graphing calculator and a free college textbook and collect an $800 stipend. Students first started in the academy last June, when they spent a week on Miami University’s campus, and in August when they stayed on UC’s campus.

The partnership is supported by the colleges of Education and Arts and Sciences at both UC and Miami universities, the federally funded GEARUP partnership to help at-risk students prepare for college, and such school districts as Cincinnati Public, Princeton City and Oak Hills.