Bayer Awards $200,000 to National Science Teachers Association

Bayer Corporation's Bayer USA Foundation has awarded the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) a $200,000 grant to create the Bayer-NSTA Fellows program and to expand the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy.

This latest Bayer USA Foundation grant supports Bayer Corporation's ongoing commitment to improve science education and science literacy through the company-wide Making Science Make Sense(R) program.

Each year for three years, the grant supports 10 early-career middle and high school science teachers with an array of professional development resources and tools. Bayer-NSTA Fellows receive a comprehensive NSTA membership package, online mentoring with trained instructors who teach in the same discipline and the opportunity to participate in a variety of Web-based professional development activities, including Web seminars. They also will receive financial support to attend NSTA's 2009 National Conference on Science Education.

The NSTA New Science Teacher Academy is a year-long professional development program to help reduce the high-attrition rate among science teachers who are new to the profession.

Research shows that nearly 50 percent of early-career teachers leave their jobs in the first five years. Intended for science educators entering their second or third year of teaching, the Academy aims to reverse this trend by promoting quality science teaching, enhancing teacher confidence and classroom excellence and improving teacher-content knowledge.

With its emphasis on encouraging and supporting middle and secondary school science educators in their first few years of teaching, the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy aligns with two of President Barack Obama's key education policy initiatives to make math and science education a national priority and retain teachers.

This spring, Bayer and NSTA will issue a call for entries to the 2009-2010 NSTA New Science Teacher Academy. Science teachers located throughout the country who will be entering their second or third year of teaching and whose schedule is a minimum of 51 percent middle or high school science, can apply to the become an NSTA Fellow. For more information about the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, to learn how to apply to become a fellow and 2009-2010 deadline information please visit www.nsta.org/academy.