St. Bonaventure University is the recipient of a $953,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage and support aspiring Adolescence Education teachers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The project, titled “Building Opportunities for Nurturing Aspiring STEM Teachers,” or BONAS-Teach, is under the direction of Dr. Kaitlyn Dykstra, assistant professor of Biology at St. Bonaventure, who serves as the principal investigator of the grant, and Dr. Adam Brown, an SBU professor of Education, co-director of the Center for Attention, Learning and Memory, and co-principal investigator.

The overall goal of the program is to increase the number of qualified grades 7-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge to teach in high-need school districts.

Recipients of the scholarship will be able to receive up to $14,000 per year during their junior and senior years at St. Bonaventure. The program also offers research stipends and opportunities for professional development in areas such as cultural competency and place-based learning. The grant will also support the development of a STEM summer camp for local middle school students to be run by BONAS-Teach scholars.

Additionally, BONAS-Teach scholars will be paired with St. Bonaventure alumni in a long-term mentorship experience that will be facilitated in their first year as a scholar and continue through their first years as a new teacher.

As one of the requirements for the scholarship, recipients must work at least two years for each year of scholarship received in a high-need school district. There are more than 60 high-need school districts in the counties surrounding St. Bonaventure (Cattaraugus, Erie, Allegany, Wyoming and Chautauqua).

“There is a critical shortage of highly qualified STEM teachers, particularly in rural areas,” Dykstra said. “Our hope is that the substantial financial support and comprehensive training provided by this grant will incentivize students to pursue careers in STEM education and equip them with the necessary skills to be effective educators.”

The BONAS-Teach program is supported by a grant from the NSF as part of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program. Applications for the 2024-25 academic year are due by July 12.

More information about the program and an application link can be found at www.sbu.edu/bonas-teach.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).