Science and Math Teacher Scholarships Launched by AFCEA

Beginning in 2010, AFCEA International will grant the AFCEA Educational Foundation an annual award of $200,000 to enable the Foundation to award 35 scholarships of $5,000 each per year. Students eligible to compete for an AFCEA STEM Teacher Scholarship must be a U.S. citizen attending an accredited college or university in the U.S. and majoring in education for the purpose of teaching a STEM subject in a U.S. middle or secondary school. Additionally, nominees must be enrolled full time and hold a minimum grade point average of 3.0.

In addition to the STEM Teacher Scholarship, each graduating AFCEA STEM Scholar will receive a $1,000 AFCEA Science Teaching Tool (STT) grant each year for three years, provided the teacher remains teaching a STEM subject. Science Teaching Tool grants are intended to augment the needs of the STEM teacher and enrich the learning experience of students. Past STT grants have been used to fund hardware and software, purchase classroom tools, and enhance extracurricular STEM focused clubs and activities.

According to AFCEA International President and CEO Kent Schneider, “Better teachers feeling more confident about themselves and their profession, equipped with more robust tools – this is our formula for getting many new students excited about STEM.”

“The best way to get more students interested in a particular field of study,” continues AFCEA Educational Foundation Vice President Fred Rainbow, “is to increase the number of inspired and inspiring teachers working in the field. The ideal way to achieve this end is by focusing on the young people who are now studying in our country’s universities and colleges in preparation for careers as STEM teachers. There are approximately 171,000 STEM teachers in U.S. middle and secondary schools. On average, each teacher reaches 150 students per year. If an additional 35 teachers each could inspire 150 more students each year with a passion for the sciences, this would translate into 5,250 more students taught by motivated teachers who hopefully will encourage these students to pursue STEM studies and careers.”

Applicants can access the AFCEA STEM Scholarship form athttp://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/TeachersScholarship.asp. The first application deadline is June 10, 2010. Scholarships will be awarded in August.

About AFCEA International and the AFCEA Educational Foundation

AFCEA International, established in 1946, is a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry, and academia as an ethical forum for advancing professional knowledge and relationships in the fields of communications, IT, intelligence, and global security. For more information, visit AFCEA.org (http://www.afcea.org).

The AFCEA Educational Foundation works closely with the chapters, raises funds, and provides leadership, guidance, and rewards to help motivate more students to become scientists and engineers. The Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing educational incentives, opportunities, and assistance for students and teachers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (broadly known as STEM). In 2009, the AFCEA Educational Foundation awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants. The AFCEA Educational Foundation has been granting scholarships and grants to college students in STEM disciplines for 30 years. Working with AFCEA local chapters, the Foundation’s Science Teaching Tool program annually reaches 200+ teachers and an estimated 50,000+ students in grades kindergarten through high school.