YSU gets grant for science education

About two dozen area teachers will be able to take the course for free.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University has been awarded a $42,466 state grant to teach teachers how to prepare their students for the science portion of the Ohio Graduation Test.

The money comes from the Ohio Board of Regents and is part of more than $3.2 million awarded across the state in Improving Teacher Quality Program grant funds. A total of 24 projects focusing on mathematics and science education improvement programs received support.

Dr. Sherri Lovelace-Cameron, associate professor of chemistry and coordinator of the YSU project, said the grant will cover tuition and fee costs for about two dozen high school teachers to take part in a summer graduate course showing them how to teach students in grades six through 10 to prepare for the science portion of the OGT.

The focus is on OGT issues that traditionally have given students problems — specifically, how to handle multiple choice and essay questions and more.

The program is structured as an intensive, one-week, all-day session and participants earn graduate credit.

It’s open to teachers from school districts in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties on a first-come, first-served basis, Lovelace-Cameron said.

YSU sends out a flier with a registration form attached to all of the schools and teachers interested must respond by the end of April.

The class will be offered in June immediately after high schools end their school year, Lovelace-Cameron said.

The Improving Teacher Quality Program provides competitive grants to public and private colleges and universities in order to form partnerships with high-need schools and school districts to increase the academic achievement of all students by improving teacher, instructional paraprofessional and principal quality.

Each funded program will support sustained and intensive high-quality science and/or mathematics professional development to ensure that teachers will provide challenging learning experiences for their students.

“Higher education has a responsibility to elevate the quality of teachers that are educating the next generation of Ohioans,” said Eric Fingerhut, Ohio’s chancellor of higher education. “By bringing collegiate faculty in academic and educational disciplines together with elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers and principals, we are creating the best teachers for Ohio.”

gwin@vindy.com