MEDIA ADVISORY
March 10, 1998
PA/M 98-6
NSF DIRECTOR TO ADDRESS ROLE OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGES IN PREPARING TEACHERS
National Science Foundation (NSF) director Neal Lane will speak on Saturday, March 14, 1998, at a conference on "The Integral Role of the Two-year College in the Science and Mathematics Preparation of Prospective Teachers." The three-day meeting is hosted by NSF and organized by the Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers and will be at two DC locations: the Madison Hotel (15th and M Streets, NW) and the National Academy of Sciences (2101 Constitution Ave., NW).
The conference will highlight the fast-growing but little-known role of two-year colleges in the education of K-12 math and science teachers. Organizers expect to increase the recognition of this role through meetings, discussions and working groups involving 110 participants and focusing on 11 exemplar two-year colleges.
The impetus for this conference is, in part, a response to the belief that the preparation of the next generation of elementary and secondary math and science teachers is a critical national concern, especially in an atmosphere of heightened technical needs in the work force. This concern has been communicated recently by President Clinton, members of Congress and the media. The conference calls upon the nation's community colleges to make teacher preparation a major priority.
Who: Neal Lane, NSF director
What: The Integral Role of the Two-year Colleges in the Science and
Mathematics Preparation of Prospective Teachers
When: March 14, 1998, at 8:30AM
Where: Madison Hotel 15th and M Streets, NW, Washington, DC
The group will also hear speeches by NAS director Bruce Alberts, who will speak on March 12 at the National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, starting at 7PM, and Secretary of Education Richard Riley, starting at 1PM on March 13 at the Madison Hotel. (Members of the media are welcome.)
For more information contact: Lee Herring 703-306-1070/[email protected] (media) Jack Hehn 703-306-1665, x 5852/[email protected] (program) Karen Murphy 804-828-1301 x 155 (meeting logistics)
Contact: Lee Herring/(703) 306-1070/[email protected]
Remarks by
Neal Lane Director, National Science Foundation at the Preparation of Prospective Teachers Meeting March 14, 1998
Excerpts
-- I have been in the Boston area for the past two days attending the National Innovation Summit [at MIT]. It was quite an event. The Vice President gave the keynote address. A dozen or so governors participated, along with scores of Fortune 500 CEOs, university presidents, and other top officials. There were close to 150 in attendance. We took on a host of issues related to the workforce, education, and the innovation enterprise generally.
-- [S]omething was amiss. Of the 150 or so heavyweights meeting in Boston, only one was affiliated with a two-year institution. One in 150. That was Bernadine Chuck Fong, the President of Foothill College in California.
-- The role for two-year institutions [in future innovation in America] is unquestionably much greater than the one-in-150 ratio suggested by the attendance list.
-- All of this relates to the larger discussion underway about the future of research and education in America. It is clear that we have arrived at a crucial moment for shaping a new agenda for science and engineering.
-- There is growing recognition in many sectors, public and private, about the contributions of science and technology to our society. This recognition has fortuitously coincided with a good and growing economy, an assured balanced budget, and record-low unemployment.
-- The President's budget has provided the catalyst to take full advantage of these positive economic and fiscal conditions. Best of all, it does so in a way that sets the stage for continued success through enhanced investments in discovery and learning.
-- It is clear that we have moved beyond thinking that it will be sufficient to expand the science system in replication of itself. The last 50 years of science have yielded a cornucopia of knowledge and innovation. More money for science, however, does not necessarily mean simply expanding the same system that was driven by post-World- War-II needs.
-- This brings us back to our gathering here today, because we are here to bring into focus one crucial part of this emerging pattern-- namely the role of two-year colleges in the preparation of future teachers.
-- That this is a crucial national need is beyond any doubt. We all know the numbers:
* Roughly 40 percent of our prospective teachers--two out of
every five--will study mathematics and science at a two-year
college; and
* For African-Americans and other persons from under-represented
groups, those numbers are even higher, and probably exceed
50 percent.
-- We also know we are off to a great start when it comes to forging a lasting partnership:
* Five years ago, activities involving two-year institutions were barely a blip in NSF's budget.
* Now, we support an investment portfolio that approaches $50 million and reaches about 200 institutions.
* And, our FY 1999 budget includes plans to increase this set of activities by almost 15 percent.
-- There is no shortage of competing and sometimes contradictory pressures and tradeoffs in our world, and especially in research and education. But, we have also learned that by investing in excellence--in the best people pursuing the best ideas--we can transform these contradictory pressures into complementary strengths. To me, this is what the exemplary activities being showcased here are all about.
-- They accomplish the best of all possible educational objectives. They equip students with skills that enable them to step directly into today's technological workforce. They also provide the broader opportunities to learn mathematics and science and practice habits of mind and problem solving techniques that will serve students well if they are called to teaching or other careers.
FACT SHEET
Community Colleges
Media contact: Lee Herring (703) 306-1070/[email protected]
-- Community colleges enroll about 44 percent of all U.S. undergraduates.
-- There are more than 5.3 million credit-earning students enrolled in the nation's approximately 1,200 community colleges.
-- Enrollment in community colleges is expected to increase by 11 percent over the next decade and now accounts for 34 percent of science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SME&T) course enrollments.
-- National Science Foundation (NSF) support to two-year colleges has increased six-fold from fiscal year (FY) 1993's $7.6 million to FY 1996's $44 million, because of NSF's continuing recognition of the critical and increasing role of two-year colleges in SME&T.
-- A major component of NSF's two-year college support is the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, which accounted for about 54 percent ($23.7 million) of NSF funding to two-year colleges in FY 1996. The ATE program has supported scholarly work at more than 150 two-year colleges. This includes faculty professional development and program and curricular materials development.
-- The preparation of future teachers has been a long-standing NSF priority. NSF's Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) program supports large-scale systemic projects designed to significantly improve SME&T educational preparation of teachers and to serve as national models of teacher preparation. Two-year colleges are active participants and partners in these collaboratives and have been essential to the success of systemic education reform.
-- Support from NSF's research directorates for two-year colleges grew to about $4.8 million in FY 1996. Much of that support came from the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate.
For more information, contact: Division of Undergraduate Education, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230; tel. 703-306-1670; http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/
March 1998
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