At TSTT we have a proven model that creates excellent STEM teachers of color, 90% of whom remain in the profession after 5 years – almost double the average retention for teachers nationally.  Only about 1.3 percent – less than 10,000 – of the available pool of minority high school graduates earn engineering degrees from America’s colleges and universities each year. However, close to 25 percent our TSTT high school students are STEM majors and over 90 percent of them – all economically challenged, underprivileged young people of color – go to college, and over 70 percent graduate. For those that do not become teachers, they go into STEM careers. And for the students that do become teachers, they return to their local schools as STEM teachers to foster the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineers and Math enthusiast.

STEM Initiative goals:

• Form a partnership with the US Department of Education. Together, we are developing a state-of-the-art STEM teacher training education syllabus using best practices from US Department of Education partners.
• Create the nation’s premiere STEM teacher training program – an eight-year collaborative model.
• Create caring, competent, and committed STEM teachers who can help close the achievement gap, reduce the dropout rate, and enrich our schools.

Students will participate in hands-on experience in STEM fields:

• Summer Camps in Robotics
• Summer Engineering Academies
• Programs through Colleges & universities
• Shadowing different STEM professions
• Internships in different STEM professions
• And other hands-on experiences (For example: student teaching)