Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education
| Initiative: | Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education |
| University: | UH-Clear Lake |
| Focus: | Math and Science Education |
Description and Justification
The Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education is a multipartner, K-18 collaboration including school districts, community colleges, universities, aerospace employers, and NASA's Johnson Space Center. The goals of the Aerospace Academy are to (1) produce a highly educated workforce for aerospace and other high technology employers, (2) create highly qualified science and math teachers to produce that workforce, and (3) move students through education faster with the aid of K-18 partnerships. Within the Aerospace Academy are three institutes, the Community-Oriented Science and Mathematics Opportunities for Students or COSMOS, the secondary school component that prepares students to become productive members of the aerospace, medical, and petrochemical industries; the Mathematics/Science Pedagogy Institute, an umbrella organization to identify teacher needs, generate new concepts and ideas for improving the teaching of mathematics and sciences, and implementing those ideas; and the High Technology Institute, a center to identify critical vacancies and skills needed in the aerospace and other high technology labor pools and to develop and deliver responsive curricula to meet those needs. Funding provides professional development for teachers, advising and field experiences for students, student scholarship support, program management, and the expansion of the program into other school districts and community colleges.
The state is faced with critical shortages of teachers in math and science. In addition, too few students in Texas are adequately preparing for and majoring in the key fields of math, science, computing, and engineering which are the foundation of the development, retention, and expansion of high technology businesses. This program is designed to assist with the resolution of these deficiencies in our immediate service area and to validate the Aerospace Academy as a model for addressing such needs.
Funding Request
$500,000 per fiscal year
