The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded a $330,967 grant to Armstrong State University Senior Physics Lecturer Donna Mullenax, Ph.D, Math Lecturer Janel Smith, Ph.D., and Childhood and Exceptional Student Education Lecturer Elizabeth Williams. The two-year grant is funded by the Mathematics and Science Partnerships federal program and will support STEM education in Savannah-Chatham County Public School System.
 
“We are pleased to secure the U.S. Department of Education’s Math and Science Partnerships Grant,” says Mullenax. “The funding will contribute greatly to the professional development of local STEM teachers.”
 
Mullenax, Smith and Williams are working collaboratively with SCCPSS personnel to provide professional development for elementary and middle school math and science teachers. Together, they will implement the Content and Instructional Practices Project, which focuses on content instruction and instructional training to strengthen the classroom experience for students.
 
The Mathematics and Science Partnerships program works to improve teacher quality through partnerships between state education agencies, institutions of higher education, high-need local education agencies and schools to increase the academic achievement of students in math and science.
 
The federal formula grant program provides funding to individual states, with the size of each state award based on student population and poverty rates. With these funds, Georgia is responsible for overseeing a competition in which grants are made to partnerships to improve the content knowledge and teaching skills of K-12 math and science teachers.