Mt. SAC STEM Teacher Preparation Program (STEM TP2)

Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a federally-designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, and is the largest single campus of California's 112 community colleges. The campus is located about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. Two factors speak to the need for the preparation of more and better science and mathematics teachers in this area: student mathematics and science test scores for several of Mt. SAC's top feeder high schools are in need of improvement and there is a predicted dramatic attrition among the population of middle-school and high school teachers. To address the need for more and better science and mathematics teachers, Mt. SAC is developing a sustainable multidimensional program to recruit, counsel, and direct likely students that have the desire and potential to become highly-qualified middle school and high school mathematics and science teachers. The project, titled Mt. SAC STEM Teacher Preparation Program (STEM TP2), is providing the students with (1) a cluster of academic support, (2) enrichment activities, (3) teaching opportunities, and (4) authentic research experiences designed to promote student success.

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a sustainable, multidimensional program that will recruit and retain students with the potential and desire to teach. The PI team is working with the existing Mt. SAC Teacher Preparation Institute to develop the process through which students will be recruited. The project is also articulating with the teacher preparation programs at the California State University, Fullerton and the University of California, Irvine so that Mt. SAC students can transfer seamlessly into a baccalaureate teacher preparation program. Student participants are selected from among students majoring in science and mathematics areas and particular emphasis is focused on recruiting students of color, females, Hispanics, veterans and first-generation college students that have a desire to teach.