Texas Instruments Foundation gives $3 million to train math and science teachers...

Texas Instruments Foundation gives $3 million to train math and science
teachers at local schools and universities
Partnership with proven programs aims to boost capability and increase numbers

DALLAS, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Instruments Foundation today
announced grants of $3 million to train existing middle and junior high school
teachers in advanced math and science and to increase the number of such
teachers who graduate from local universities.

This investment is consistent with the Texas Instruments Foundation's focus on
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and its mission to
substantially strengthen the number of high-school graduates who are capable
of advanced math and science by focusing on teachers - the most critical link
in the learning chain.

"Teachers are the key. But we can't expect to graduate the caliber of students
our state and nation need without more and better trained math and science
teachers," said Sam Self, chairman of the Texas Instruments Foundation. "We're
investing in proven programs to address both quality and quantity of STEM
teachers. These grants help by training 180 existing teachers in three school
districts and developing 300 new teachers from three North Texas universities
by 2013."

The Foundation grants will fund two programs that have proven successful at
the state and national levels:
-- Laying the Foundation(R) will receive $1.5 million for advanced
training
of existing teachers in 10 middle and junior high schools in the
Dallas,
Garland and Richardson school districts to improve their strategies
for
teaching Pre-AP-level coursework. This grant also will include a
unique
component for mentoring and lesson modeling, as well as pre-and
post-course assessment of students. The LTF grant provides potential
financial incentives of about $4,500 per teacher to encourage
retention
over the next five years. As partners in the program, the schools
applied to be part of the program and share in the cost of the
training.

-- UTeach programs at three universities will receive a total of $1.5
million to prepare college undergraduates to become secondary math and
science teachers. Specifically, these grants will be used to provide
a
total of seven master teachers at The University of North Texas, The
University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at
Arlington.
Each master teacher will work alongside senior faculty to prepare more
than 50 undergraduate students each year for certification in math or
science. Two Foundation grants will expand existing UTeach centers at
The University of North Texas and The University of Texas at Dallas.
Another Foundation grant, complemented by funding from the National
Math
and Science Initiative (NMSI), the Texas Education Agency and the
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, will establish a new UTeach center
at
the University of Texas at Arlington.

Teachers and schools need more support
"Both federal and state governments are strongly promoting STEM education, and
we applaud those efforts," Self said. "But, the support of more foundations
and corporations is needed to address the critical teacher shortage. We invite
others to join us in this mission. The more we can all put our resources
behind proven, successful programs, the farther we believe we can advance STEM
education."

About the Texas Instruments Foundation
The Texas Instruments Foundation, established in 1964, is a non-profit,
philanthropic organization. Its primary intent is to improve STEM education
and increase the percentage of high-school graduates who are math and science
capable. For more information, see http://www.ti.com/tifoundation.

About Laying the Foundation((R) )
Laying the Foundation (LTF) is an established program that has trained more
than 18,800 teachers in the state since 2003, including more than 3,000 in 694
Texas schools in the last school year.

"Research shows that teacher effectiveness is absolutely critical for student
success," said Peter O'Donnell, Jr., chairman of Laying the Foundation. "This
grant allows us to provide Dallas, Garland and Richardson ISD teachers with
training, teacher-to-teacher mentoring and student assessment tools to
increase rigor in their classrooms and raise expectations for student
achievement."

The following 10 middle and junior high schools were selected for the program
and will benefit from the Texas Instruments Foundation's funding:
Dallas ISD: Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership Academy; John B. Hood Middle
School
Garland ISD: Austin Academy for Excellence, Classical Center at Brandenberg
Middle School, Sam Houston Middle School, B.G. Hudson Middle School and
Jackson Technology Center for Math and Science
Richardson ISD: Lake Highlands Junior High School, Liberty Junior High
School,
Westwood Junior High

About UTeach
UTeach started at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997, and, under the
auspices of the UTeach Institute and NMSI, the program has been replicated in
13 other universities since 2007. As a result, more than 1,500 math and
science majors are currently enrolled in UTeach programs across the country.
In addition to classroom instruction, the UTeach students also are given four
years of intensive experience in public schools coupled with feedback on their
teaching performance.

"Universities across the country are working together, putting aside past
approaches and interests," said Tom Luce, CEO of National Math and Science
Initiative (NMSI). "UNT, UT Dallas and UTA are implementing the UTeach
Program to become "the way" their secondary STEM teachers are prepared."

UTeach middle and high school math and science teachers who earned majors in
their disciplines have remained in their professions at higher rates than the
graduates of most of other programs. About 80 percent are still in their
teaching positions five year later, compared to the national average of 50
percent. They also choose in large numbers to teach in high-need schools.
Without such efforts, many school districts must hire uncertified or under
qualified staff simply because there is such a shortage of math and science
teachers.

The UTeach Dallas program at UT Dallas was launched in the spring of 2008 and
has since grown rapidly to 135 students.

The Teach North Texas (TNT) program at the University of North Texas, also
launched in spring 2008, plans to have more than 300 students enrolled in the
next five years, more than double its initial projection.

About the National Math and Science Initiative
The National Math and Science Initiative -- launched by top leaders in in U.S.
business, education and science in 2007 -- is an agent of change focused on
improving student achievement in math and science across the American public
school system. NMSI brings best practices in management to the education
sector by replicating proven programs on a national scale.

In its first two years, NMSI has awarded grants totaling more than $120
million to expand the AP Training and Incentive Program to six states and to
implement the UTeach program in 13 universities. NMSI is partnering with the
UTeach Institute to recruit and prepare a new generation of math and science
teachers for the U.S.

About the need for math/science teachers
These facts illustrate the need for more, qualified STEM teachers in the U.S.
and Texas:
-- The U.S. will need 280,000 additional mathematics and science teachers
by 2015.(1)
-- An additional 16,000 teachers are needed in Texas to fill vacancies
and
replace teachers who are not fully certified to teach math and
science.
The state has approximately 6,500 in the teacher preparation pipeline
and another 2,500 with appropriate certification who are projected to
return to the classroom.(2)
-- Only half of new mathematics and science teachers are still in
classrooms five years after starting their careers.(3)
-- Middle and high school mathematics and science teachers are more
likely
than not to be teaching outside their own fields of study. Nearly a
third of U.S. high school math students and two-thirds of those
enrolled
in physical science have teachers who did not major in the subject in
college or are not certified to teach it.(4)
-- In Texas, about 30% of middle and high school science teachers do not
even have a minor in their subject. This percentage is even higher in
schools with high populations of low-income students.(5)
-- Only 4% of alternatively certified teachers currently have degrees in
mathematics, science or engineering.(6)

-- The Education Trust has reported that in high poverty schools, two in
five math classes have teachers without a college major or
certification
in math.

1. Business-Higher Education Forum and President Barack Obama's address
to the National Academy of Sciences, April 2009
2. Secondary Mathematics and Science Teachers in Texas: Supply, Demand,
and
Quality, Dr. Ed Fuller, UT Austin, October 2008
3. NMSI
4. Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report by the National Academies
5. "The Next Frontier", The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and
Science of Texas, 2009

6. "The Next Frontier", The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and
Science of Texas, 2009

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated

Gail Chandler of Texas Instruments, +1-214-480-6808, g-chandler1@ti.com,
(Please do not publish this phone number or email address).