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UNCG and Guilford County Schools team up to attract STEM teachers

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is teaming up with Guilford County Schools by covering tuition for future math and science teachers. 

The program is aimed at students seeking a Master of Arts degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, commonly known as STEM.

According to a news release, the idea is to attract people with content knowledge in STEM fields who want to learn how to teach.

The Math and Science Teachers of Tomorrow program, or MST2, will offer free tuition at UNCG, as well as coaching for students seeking to fulfill the requirements to continue teaching in North Carolina. Participants will be asked to commit to instructing in Guilford County Schools for one year for each semester they take part in the program.

The effort comes at a time when teacher shortages are hampering schools both statewide and around the country.

Alison Coker, a human resources officer with Guilford County Schools, says her district suffered severe shortages of math teachers following the COVID-19 pandemic when many instructors left the profession.

The MST2 program represents a joint effort of Guilford County Schools, UNCG’s School of Education, and its Institute for Partnerships in Education.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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