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In nearly every school I’ve visited in our state, I’ve heard about our STEM educator shortage. From Phoenix to Salome, Tucson to Lake Havasu, our schools are looking for highly effective and appropriately certified STEM teachers. As district leaders, I want to make sure you’re aware of a scholarship offered through the Arizona Department of Education that helps any currently certified K-12 teacher expand their STEM teaching & knowledge.
The “Get SET for STEM” (SET = Scholarships for Effective Teachers) program offers current Arizona teachers $2,000 that they can use towards coursework or programs that help them add a certified STEM area or CTE certificate to their teaching certificate.
For example, if there is a teacher on your staff that is interested in teaching physics, that teacher can apply for and receive funds to take courses at an Arizona higher education institution (like ASU, UA, NAU, GCU, and any of our community colleges) that prepare them for the physics content exam. All that teacher has to do is submit an application outlining the coursework they intend to take and the STEM area or CTE certificate they plan to add to their teaching certificate.
Teachers who receive Get SET for STEM funds make a commitment to teach in Arizona public schools for three years after completing their coursework. And it’s not just a one-time scholarship – teachers can apply more than once for these funds as long as they show how they’ll use the scholarship towards additional courses or programs.
While there are several strategies to recruit and retain STEM educators in Arizona, I wanted to make sure you and your district knew of this opportunity that’s already helping Arizona educators grow their skills and getting more STEM educators into the classrooms that desperately need them.
You can visit our website for more information. If you have any questions, please e-mail the Teacher Professional Development Inbox at TPDS@azed.gov or call them at 602-364-3345.
Sincerely,
Kathy Hoffman
MS, CCC-SLP
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Arizona Department of Education
