Noyce Knights Scholars Program (NKSP)
Funded by the NSF’s Robert Noyce program, the Noyce Knights Scholars Program (NKSP) aims to prepare, support and certify 25 highly qualified diverse middle and high school (6-12) science and mathematics teachers over five years to remedy the 6-12 STEM teacher shortages in Kentucky. Kentucky is producing significantly fewer certified STEM teachers than needed to fill the vacant middle and high school science and mathematics teaching positions in the state. This Noyce Track-1 project builds on the Bellarmine University’s NSF funded Noyce Capacity Building project that build and strengthened the STEM teacher education infrastructure, by forming new partnerships, recruitment pipelines, and retention strategies needed to increase the number of certified STEM teachers in high-need schools in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.
NSKP also aims to serve the national need of preparing and retaining highly qualified STEM teachers who can implement culturally responsive instruction in diverse classrooms. A STEM Teacher Education Learning Community (STELC) will provide a new ecosystem and synergy in STEM teacher education among the NKSP collaborative partners that include, Jefferson County Public School District (JCPS), Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC), Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), STEM Academies of Louisville, the Kentucky Science Center (KSC), and the University of Kentucky (UK).
Upon certification, all NKSP scholars will be placed at a JCPS or another high-need school district’s middle or high school (based on the teaching certification) and MUST teach for at least two years for each year of the scholarship/stipend award within 6 years after graduation. NKSP scholars can choose to teach at a high-need school district anywhere in the country for at least two years, for each year of the award within 6 years after graduation. The starting salary of a JCPS teacher with a MAT degree is $50,901 ($44,853 with a bachelor’s degree) and the average teacher salary of a JCPS teacher is $63,000, with top earners making more than $90,000 per year.
NSKP will award Noyce scholarships/stipends to US Citizens, US Nationals, or US Permanent Residents to obtain teaching certification in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or Mathematics via one of three certification pathways.