SUNY Interim Chancellor John B. Clark Applauds Campuses On Receiving State Education Department Grants

Albany -- SUNY Interim Chancellor John B. Clark today applauded 11 SUNY campuses on receiving grants from the New York State Education Department, saying the grants will enhance the quality of teaching and learning throughout the state.

“SUNY campuses produce some of the best teachers in the country, each year preparing approximately 25 percent of the state’s 20,000 new teachers who gain certification through college and university programs,” said Clark. “These grants will further enhance the quality of teacher education being provided on our campuses and in schools across the state. I commend Commissioner Mills and the State Education Department on recognizing the importance of K-16 collaboration and for bringing these important programs to colleges and universities throughout New York, and I congratulate the SUNY campuses on receiving the grants for their great work.”

The State Education Department announced the awarded grants on Tuesday, August 7. The grants went to colleges and universities throughout the state and will be used to fund summer programs that will improve math and science instruction in New York’s schools. The grants are administered through two new programs: “The 2007 Summer Mathematics and/or Science Programs for Middle School Students” and “Summer 2007 Classes and/or Institutes for Teachers in Mathematics and/or Science.”

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, “The leaders in the global economy are those with the most advanced math and science skills and knowledge. These grants help give more New York teachers and students those critical skills.”

The department distributed just under $2 million in grants to colleges and universities throughout the State under the “Summer 2007 Classes and/or Institutes for Teachers in Mathematics and/or Science.” This grant program funds 50 percent of the costs of teachers attending university or college-based summer classes and/or institutes. The classes must be designed to improve the teachers’ professional content knowledge and to refresh their ability to apply state-of-the-art technology in the areas of math and/or science. The classes the teachers attend must be directly related to their current or likely future teaching assignments. Selected colleges and universities must partner with one or more public school districts and serve teachers from within the districts. Teachers from charter schools and non-public schools located within the partnering school districts must also be allowed to participate.

Nearly $470,000 was distributed to community colleges throughout New York under the Math and Science Program for Middle School Students. These grants support improved achievement of middle school students in math and/or science through hands-on, engaging summer programs. The colleges must partner with one or more public school districts and serve middle school students from those districts. The programs are aligned with New York’s learning standards and with the intermediate level core curricula in math and science. These programs are available to students who completed grades five, six, seven, or eight in June 2007, and must be offered at no cost to the participating students. Middle school students from charter schools and non-public schools located within the partnering public school districts must also be allowed to participate.

The following SUNY campuses received “Classes and/or Institutes for Teachers in Mathematics and/or Science” grants: SUNY IT, $32,524; SUNY Cortland (Mathematics Science Integration), $11,847; SUNY Cortland (Environmental Science), 133,361; SUNY Cortland (Using Fractions and Geometry to Bring Mathematics Alive), $4,569; College of Ceramics at Alfred, $7,703; Broome Community College, $6,606; Buffalo State, $33,000; SUNY Brockport, $17,777; Corning Community College, $20,000; and Genesee Community College, $22,750.  

The following SUNY campuses received “Mathematics and/or Science Programs for Middle School Students” grants: Jamestown Community College, $22,169; Orange County Community College, $108, 809; and Jefferson Community College, $18,054.

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 417,500 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. 

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