The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the College of Staten Island’s Teacher Education Honors Academy (TEHA) a grant from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, for a total intended amount of $1,012,325. The grant extends for five years and will help expand the TEHA program at CSI.

Specifically, funding from the NSF grant will be used to provide substantial scholarships to twelve perspective STEM teachers per year in 2024-26, with expected continued support in 2027-28, according to Dr. Carlo Lancellotti, Interim Executive Director of TEHA and a principal Investigator of the proposal. The scholarships will allow TEHA to train even more highly successful teachers, continuing the tradition set by late CSI Professor Dr. Jane Coffee, who founded the TEHA program in 2006 as a as a pivotal initiative within the CUNY-wide effort to empower aspiring math and science teachers.

“The project goal is to recruit, train, and retain talented mathematics and science undergraduates, who will become certified NYC secondary school teachers,” said Dr. Lancellotti. “The NSF award allows us to expand partnerships to boost program enrollment, provide enrichment activities to promote prospective teachers’ reflection on teaching practices, and leverage our TEHA alumni to structure collaborative teacher induction experiences.”

CSI’s grant proposal was also led by co-Principal Investigators Leah Cohen, Wenjuan Li, Joseph Quinn, and Nelly Tournaki, and falls in line with several TEHA initiatives that the program is proud of. More than 90% of TEHA graduates have been hired as teachers in New York City high schools and intermediate schools since the program began. TEHA had a cluster of students present work at CSI’s recent Undergraduate Student Conference and two recent alumni have been admitted to the Teachers College, Columbia University. Mona Kotb will enroll in the doctoral program in mathematics education, and Reyam Ghannoum will participate in the master’s program in mathematics.

Scholarship awards provided by the NSF through the Robert Noyce program are expected to begin in July 2024.

“TEHA Noyce Scholars will participate in a series of professional learning activities and mentoring opportunities with a TEHA alumni mentor,” remarked Dr. Li. “This provides the Noyce Scholars with rich network connections that can be leveraged to navigate the learning curve during their first year of teaching.”

This awarded grant from the NSF is a continuing grant, with specific intended support of over $644K for 2024-26, with a statement of intent to provide support of the project for additional periods, provided funds are available and the results achieved warrant further support. Contingent on the availability of funds and the scientific progress of the project, NSF expects to continue support approximately $367, 930 for the last two years of the grant.

To find out more about the TEHA program, visit the TEHA Website.