Workforce Happenings

“Alabama is taking the lead in ending the shortage of STEM teachers! With UTeach Alabama, we are implementing a proven solution that will give Alabama schools the teachers they need to prepare the next generation of STEM learners.”  – Governor Kay Ivey 
 
With leadership from the Alabama STEM Council, six fully accredited state-supported Alabama universities have been selected to receive grants to launch UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation programs. The following universities are eligible for a total of $14 million over five years, with funds provided by the Alabama Legislature, to implement their own UTeach programs beginning in spring of 2023:  
 
•    Alabama A&M University 
•    Auburn University 
•    Auburn University at Montgomery 
•    Athens State University 
•    University of South Alabama  
•    The University of West Alabama  
 
The University of Alabama at Birmingham will also be provided funds to continue to expand their UABTeach program. Collectively, these universities are expected to produce up to 530 highly qualified STEM teachers for the state during the grant period and more than 250 STEM teachers annually once fully established.  
 
“Preparing our students for careers in a high-tech economy is vital – and all students across our state need access to stem-based courses,” said Dr. Eric G. Mackey, Alabama State Superintendent of Education. “Expanding Alabama’s UTeach program will help put more STEM teachers in our classrooms and will be a game changer for schools that have had difficulty recruiting and retaining science and math teachers. We are excited about this program and the impact it will have on the students in urban and rural areas as we prepare all of our students to become more productive, responsible citizens as they graduate and enter the workforce.” 
 
To further their work to improve the STEM education pipeline leading to a strong STEM workforce in the state of Alabama, the STEM Council has partnered with the UTeach Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to manage grant awards and provide program implementation support to the selected partner universities.  
 
Jim Purcell, Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education noted, “I am excited about the prospect of addressing the shortage of STEM teachers in Alabama, and I’m glad that these institutions are willing to be a part of the solution.”  
 
UTeach is a renowned university-based STEM teacher preparation program founded at The University of Texas at Austin. Since 2008, the UTeach Institute has partnered with 50 universities in 23 states and the District of Columbia to strengthen university-based preparation of secondary STEM teachers through UTeach, which provides math and science undergraduates with research-based, clinically intensive teacher preparation and continued support in their early teaching careers. The UTeach program is uniquely designed to lower barriers and incentivize undergraduate STEM majors to consider teaching as a career. UTeach teachers average longer classroom careers than graduates of other teacher preparation programs, and nearly 70 percent of UTeach graduates teach in Title 1 schools. An independent study found that students of UTeach teachers out-perform their peers in science and math achievement. 
 
About the Alabama STEM Council 
The Alabama STEM Council was formed on September 21, 2020, by Governor Kay Ivey’s Executive Order No. 721. The Council members represent leaders from Alabama businesses, education, and state government. The Council’s work builds on and extends Alabama’s Roadmap to STEM Success by advising on ways to improve STEM education and STEM-related career awareness and workforce pathways. 
 
About the UTeach Institute 
The UTeach Institute works to improve secondary STEM teaching and learning through the national expansion of the UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation program to colleges and universities. Over fifteen years, the Institute has employed a comprehensive approach to successful program development in higher education settings and serves as the national hub to a networked community of 50 universities implementing UTeach programs. Learn more at uteach-institute.org. 
 
Please direct inquiries about this initiative to Alabama@uteach.utexas.edu