Elementary school teacher Kimberly Rougeux 鈥�01 has had her sights set on getting a master鈥檚 degree for as long as she can remember. But as a full-time teacher and a busy foster parent, she struggled to find the time and resources. That all changed two years ago when she opened an email from Orange County Public Schools sharing news about a program that offered teachers a graduate degree at 麻豆原创 at no cost. She knew at that moment she鈥檇 found a way to make it work.
Rougeux is one of 20 OCPS teachers who will graduate this week with a Master of Education in K-8 Mathematics and Science, returning to their classrooms with the latest strategies for teaching elementary and middle school students. An additional 78 Orange County teachers remain in the program and will graduate during the next two years.
What Rougeux and her fellow teachers in the program won鈥檛 have at graduation is any educational debt. An endowment from Lockheed Martin and funding from OCPS cover tuition and fees for the master鈥檚 degree program, which was designed to bolster science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, retain current teachers and build the talent pipeline.
鈥淭his program is incredibly vital in filling the intense need for capable STEM teachers in Florida and across the nation,鈥� says Tom Mirek, a vice president of engineering and technology at Lockheed Martin. 鈥淟ockheed Martin invests in master鈥檚 degrees for educators because we believe in the power of teachers to inspire the next generation of students who will become tomorrow鈥檚 engineers, scientists and technologists that鈥檒l shape the future of our world for decades.鈥�
For Rougeux, a fifth grade teacher at Lake Como School, the dream of getting a graduate degree seemed financially out of reach. She has fostered 11 children in the last five years, ranging from infants she cared for less than a week to siblings who lived with her for two years. 鈥淚 could not have afforded to pay a babysitter and take classes,鈥� says Rougeux, who is in the process of adopting a 4-year-old boy she鈥檚 been fostering.
To be eligible for the program, teachers must teach in an elementary school or teach math or science in a middle school. Priority is given to those in Title I schools, which have high concentrations of underserved students, and who will commit to continue teaching for at least three years after earning their master鈥檚 degree. The program comes at a time when Florida is focusing on increasing student math scores, a move that should help prepare students for what is projected to be a 10 percent growth in STEM jobs nationally between 2018 and 2028.
鈥淭his partnership speaks to Lockheed Martin鈥檚 long-term vision for increasing STEM professionals in our community. Training high-quality math and science teachers is an investment in our instructors as well as students for years to come,鈥� says OCPS Superintendent Barbara Jenkins 鈥�83 鈥�86MEd 鈥�96EdD. 鈥淭he opportunity for our teachers to further their own education helps OCPS keep talented and experienced teachers in the classroom.鈥�
While other states have programs offering financial support to the teacher-talent pipeline, they鈥檙e primarily for undergraduate degrees, according to Pegasus Professor and Lockheed Martin Eminent Scholar Lisa Dieker, who heads the 麻豆原创 program. 鈥淔ree degrees to elevate you in the profession are not common,鈥� Dieker says.
The six-semester program takes two years to complete and is taught by a dozen 麻豆原创 faculty members in math and science specialties. The classes alternate between two locations 鈥� 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus and Carver Middle School 鈥� to make them as accessible as possible to the teachers, who attend two nights a week. The classes supplement the science and math coursework that鈥檚 not included in a general elementary education degree, as well as encourage student-driven learning and teacher leadership skills.
Graduating teachers 鈥渟hould be the 鈥榞o to鈥� person in their schools and in the district, and they should be the advocate and voice for learning in math and science in their schools,鈥� Dieker says.
Rougeux, a 17-year teaching veteran, has already seen an impact in her classroom. 鈥淎 lot of what I learned 20 years ago is not relevant,鈥� she says. She鈥檚 teaching students to understand the math and not just memorize it. 鈥淭here鈥檚 that 鈥榓ha鈥� moment when they realize they understand the concept,鈥� says Rougeux. 鈥淚 tell my students 鈥� I don鈥檛 want you to have that moment in college, I want you to have that now.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really changed, I think, who I am as an educator,鈥� says Jessica Granahan 鈥�10, a fourth grade teacher at Lawton Chiles Elementary School who will also graduate in December. 鈥淚nstead of just standing in front of the room and showing them what to do, we鈥檝e learned to be more facilitators in the classroom. We assign students tasks and let them talk things out. We walk around the room and use questions to gauge student understanding.鈥�
Every member of Granahan鈥檚 class achieved a satisfactory performance score on the mathematics portion of the Florida Standards Assessments, something she attributes in part to what鈥檚 she鈥檚 learned in the program. Granahan, who majored in English language arts education at 麻豆原创, was named her school鈥檚 2019 Teacher of the Year and expects to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.
Providing scholarships for teachers pursing master鈥檚 degrees is one of two programs offered through the Lockheed Martin/麻豆原创 Academy. A second program, Transition to Mathematics and Science Teaching or T-MAST, is an accelerated graduate program designed to prepare science and technology professionals currently in the work force to transition to middle school teaching positions. Since the Academy began in 1992, more than 560 students have received varying degrees of financial support to continue their education. The latest group of 98 is the first to have all the costs covered.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making sure the kids in our communities think differently about careers in STEM,鈥� says Dieker. 鈥淎nd I believe we鈥檒l see that even more in the future.鈥�
