Middle-Grade Science and Math Teachers Go Back to School

For three years after a long day in their own classrooms, 48 Washington, D.C., teachers of middle-grade math or science teachers would arrive at AAAS for three-hour evening classes once a week. Some of them wore workout clothes, many snacked during class, and a few had their children playing quietly on the sidelines. All of them had enthusiastic reasons for why they would devote their time to attending evening and summer classes and meeting in small groups on weekends. Deepening their knowledge as a way to improve their teaching, building their confidence, completing a master's program for free and being eligible for pay raises topped their list of reasons.

The science program DC ACTS (DC Advancing Competencies in Technology and Science) and the mathematics program DC FAME (DC Fellows for the Advancement of Mathematics Education), both administered by AAAS, took the teachers through three years of rigorous study and professional development culminating in a master's degree from The George Washington University (GW).

Last month, the programs produced their first graduates, all of whom have the knowledge to change the teaching of science and math in their schools. "You're ready to go forward and accomplish something that is truly remarkable," Shirley Malcom, head of AAAS's Education and Human Resources Programs, told the graduates, their families and other supporters during a 17 May ceremony at AAAS. "With this, there truly is no child left behind."

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