2008 Woodie Awards
Bush plan draws mixed reaction
Emily Martin, Daily Bruin
Issue date: 2/22/06 Section: News
As part of his agenda for the 2007 budget, President Bush plans to bring an influx of math and science professionals into elementary school classrooms across the country. Bush proposed two programs as part of his Academic Competitiveness Initiative: The Adjunct Teachers Corps and the Advanced Placement Incentive Program, which would train a total of 100,000 new teachers qualified to instruct upper-level math and science classes by the year 2015.
Designed to increase the level of expertise in the teaching field, the
Adjunct Teachers Corps would encourage math and science professionals to consider careers in teaching, and the Advanced Placement Incentive Program would train current teachers to teach advanced math and science classes, if the measure is passed by Congress.
The Adjunct Teachers Corps program would spend $25 million to increase the number of math and science teachers by training science, math and engineering professionals to teach elementary school classes as adjunct teachers. The proposal suggests that this could be accomplished through partnerships between school districts and private sponsors.
As part of the program, adjunct teachers would be allowed to teach without credentials, which Bush administration officials say sometimes discourages some professionals from teaching.
According to the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey done by the National Research Council, less than 8 percent of elementary school students are taught math and science by teachers with majors or specializations in that field.
The president's budget allotted a combined $147 million for the two-part plan to increase the amount of students being instructed by professionally trained teachers.
"We need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations," Bush said in his State of the Union address on Jan. 31.
The goal of the Adjunct Teachers Corps is to create 30,000 new teachers by drawing from what the Bush administration calls "untapped resources"-current and retiring math and science professionals with college degrees.
Designed to increase the level of expertise in the teaching field, the
Adjunct Teachers Corps would encourage math and science professionals to consider careers in teaching, and the Advanced Placement Incentive Program would train current teachers to teach advanced math and science classes, if the measure is passed by Congress.
The Adjunct Teachers Corps program would spend $25 million to increase the number of math and science teachers by training science, math and engineering professionals to teach elementary school classes as adjunct teachers. The proposal suggests that this could be accomplished through partnerships between school districts and private sponsors.
As part of the program, adjunct teachers would be allowed to teach without credentials, which Bush administration officials say sometimes discourages some professionals from teaching.
According to the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey done by the National Research Council, less than 8 percent of elementary school students are taught math and science by teachers with majors or specializations in that field.
The president's budget allotted a combined $147 million for the two-part plan to increase the amount of students being instructed by professionally trained teachers.
"We need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations," Bush said in his State of the Union address on Jan. 31.
The goal of the Adjunct Teachers Corps is to create 30,000 new teachers by drawing from what the Bush administration calls "untapped resources"-current and retiring math and science professionals with college degrees.