The population of students in Puerto Rico that has enrolled in higher education within the last six years has been severely affected by a compound effect of the many major humanitarian crises, including a deteriorated economy since the 2006 Great Recession, Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, earthquakes in 2019 and 2020, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, and Hurricane Fiona in 2022. To ensure that students can cope with the aftermath of these natural disasters, the following programs were conceived: The Ecosystem to Expand Capabilities and Opportunities for STEM-Scholars (EECOS), the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP) and The Noyce Teacher Scholars Program – (NoTeS), all three programs are funded by the National Science Foundation. EECOS developed a support ecosystem that consists of three elements: academic support, socio-emotional support, and financial support. NoTeS. provides talented Hispanic low-socioeconomic bilingual undergraduate or recently graduated STEM majors and professionals up to two years of scholarship funding as well as academic and professional support as they complete the requirements to obtain teacher certification to become K-12 math and science teachers. This program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge to fill the need for teachers in high-need school districts. RISE-UP was conceptualized to educate architecture and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams to provide resilient and sustainable design and construction solutions to infrastructure challenges. To date, EECOS has directly impacted XX students and graduated XXX students. NoTeS has helped nineteen scholars and ten affiliates (participants of the activities without the scholarship) partake. Eight of the nine alums scholars now work as math or science teachers in a high-needs school. RISE-UP has had 127 scholars who are enrolled or have completed the RISE-UP curricular sequence. This paper provides effective practices and a baseline characterization that universities can use to help students overcome the effects of natural disasters and promote student success using ecosystems of support that expand capabilities and opportunities, particularly for STEM scholars. 
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                            THE JOURNEY OF A STEM UNDERGRADUATE TO A SUCCESSFUL RURAL MATHEMATICS EDUCATOR AND THE IMPACT OF THE ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
                        
                    
    
            The transition from an undergraduate STEM student to a successful STEM teacher who persists for more than 5 years teaching in a high needs school is a tenuous journey. Only one third of STEM teachers persist in teaching for more than 5 years, and in rural areas the number of STEM teachers who leave each year is even higher. The goal of the Noyce Scholarship program is to increase the number of effective STEM teachers in the public-school classroom. For most undergraduate STEM majors, their challenges in coursework, certification, and personal issues are highly individualized and need specific intervention. This qualitative case study examines the journey of one STEM undergraduate, how the Noyce program responded to the participant’s individual challenges, and the success and persistence of that Noyce recipient in the STEM classroom. Case studies such as this can provide critical information to EPP’s and STEM scholarship programs about the challenges and needs of STEM undergraduates and teachers, so that key changes can be made in those programs to better support and increase the number of effective STEM teachers who will stay in the classroom. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 2050397
- PAR ID:
- 10530472
- Editor(s):
- Varela, Daniella G
- Publisher / Repository:
- https://cdn.wildapricot.com/
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Texas Forum of Teacher Education
- Edition / Version:
- 14
- Volume:
- 14
- ISSN:
- 2166-0190
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 140-150
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- STEM, educator preparation programs, mathematics educator, rural public schools, early field experiences
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: 292kb Other: pdf/a
- Size(s):
- 292kb
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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