Sioux Center, Iowa — A Sioux County institution of higher learning has received a nearly $1.2 million grant.
Dordt University officials tell us the university has received a nearly $1.2 million grant that will be distributed over the course of five years primarily through scholarships for students who are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education majors. The grant comes from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which is a renewal of a National Science Foundation grant that Dordt received six years ago.
Dr. Valorie Zonnefeld, professor of mathematics and the principal investigator for the grant says that the scholarships are $14,500 per year, and both juniors and seniors are eligible. She says there is a two-year requirement to teach in a high-needs school for each year that the scholarship is received.
Dordt officials tell us the grant seeks to address the national shortage of STEM teachers, especially in high-need rural schools where up to 54% of positions in STEM fields are unfilled. Zonnefeld and her co-principal investigator team, in their proposal, wrote, “A unique challenge for STEM teachers in rural districts is that they are often the only STEM expert in the district. This requires teachers to not only teach all the high school math and science courses but to also lead STEM education initiatives for the district.”
