The gte Corporation of Stamford, Conn., last week announced a $750,000 fellowship program that will enable practicing mathematics and science teachers to study their fields in depth and use their study in classroom projects.
The program, tested last year in a pilot project in North Carolina, will involve 80 teachers in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia. The three states and the district were selected, a gte official said, because school officials there have demonstrated a commitment to improving public schools.
Program Gives Teachers $2,500
Called “Growth Initiatives for Teachers,” the program will give the teachers $2,500 to spend on graduate study or inservice training in mathematics and science. The fellows will also attend seminars at gte laboratories.
After completing their studies, the teachers will receive another $2,500 from gte to develop plans for taking what they have learned to their classes at school. The money will be matched by the teachers’ schools.
Teachers who took part in last year’s pilot program studied calculus, biology, and other subjects. Some of the teachers did field work in the Galapagos Islands and in Kenya.
The fellows will be selected by the Educational Testing Service and the gte Foundation. Applications are available from the gte Gift Program, Box 2913, Princeton, N.J. 08541. The deadline for this summer’s program is Feb. 29.--ce