CSU Chancellor’s Office awards CSUB with MSTI grant

The $200,000 funding helps increase the number of math and science teachers

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 2^nd, 2020

California State University, Bakersfield was awarded two Math, Science, and Teacher Initiative (MSTI) grants of $100,000 each, from the California State University Chancellor’s Office.

“Through these additional awarded funds, the Math and Science Teacher Initiative will be able to expand our programming here at CSU Bakersfield. This will most visibly be seen through the increased efforts in recruitment of STEM teachers, financial aid support, and the creation of new teacher credentialing pathways,” said Jesus Esquibel, MSTI director.

Each year, CSUB applies for funding to run the MSTI program.

“Starting last year, the Chancellors Office has offered an additional award up to $100k in what is being called the STEM CHALLENGE. This award is intended to promote and support a CSU system wide effort to double the amount of STEM teachers trained each year. Each campus has been provided a baseline goal and are working to meet this goal by the end of 2023,” explained Esquibel.

The MSTI’s goal is to recruit STEM teachers, and while that will continue to be the goal, there is more to it.

“The types of support we are able to provide our scholars is just as important to us. Every scholar admitted into our program will not only receive $1,500 a semester in financial aid, but we are also helping to defray the costs attached to the teacher credentialing process,” added Esquibel.

Esquibel said that anyone who plans to work in a local school district has to pay for fingerprinting and federal background checks. This is a cost that students have to pay out of their own pockets. However, the MSTI helps cover these costs and other fees during “a critical period in teacher candidate training when additional work might not be available.”

CSUB has received the MSTI grant funding for the past several years, so this will permit the School of Social Sciences and Education and the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Education (NSME) to continue the work they’ve already begun.

“It allows CSUB to increase the number of math and science teachers in the region while also allowing us to more fully develop pathways into teacher credential programs for CSUB undergraduates and for students who transfer from community colleges,” said Dr. James L. Rodríguez, dean of the School of Social Sciences and Education.

Aside from the partnerships on campus between schools, but it also speaks to the partnership and element of pathways with Bakersfield College (BC) and beyond.

“While this funding is intended for a specific purpose, it is part of a larger effort to elevate efforts within the School of Social Sciences and Education and throughout the university to increase engagement with educational and community partners in the San Joaquin Valley and Northern Los Angeles County,” said Dr. Rodríguez.

Moving forward, the award allows the Department of Teacher Education the opportunity to expand financial aid and related supports to a broader scope of groups, including teacher credentialing candidates, as the MSTI has typically restricted funding to undergraduate students.

“This award will allow our program to provide financial aid to students who are completing their teacher credentialing program, particularly candidates in our Kern Urban Teacher Residency and Kern High Teacher Residency (both have a STEM pathway). Residencies will typically require much more time in clinical practice which translates to less opportunity for a student to work outside of the program,” added Esquibel.

There were two other projects that the Department of Teacher Education proposed for the MSTI grant award to focus around STEM teacher pathways. The first initiative will continue to build on existing partnerships with local two-year colleges to provide STEM teaching pathways for transferring students. The second project is focused on a computer science pathway for teaching grades 6-12.

“This is important for CSUB, Kern County schools, and the Central Valley. There is a teacher shortage and a much more acute STEM teacher shortage that has to be addressed. This award is helping pay for student tuition, defray many of the cost associated with teacher certification, and to help train prospective teachers to work with K-12 students throughout our Valley,” said Esquibel.