Saint Mary’s receives $418,000 from U.S. Department of Education

With $418,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Saint Mary’s University plans to assist and mentor K-12 educators in targeted Minnesota school districts.

The “Teachers Teaching Teachers” program received a $228,000 grant for professional development for teachers from the DOE’s Fund for the Improvement of Education Programs of National Significance, and a grant of $190,000 for technology upgrades from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Sponsors of the grants included Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).

The “Teachers Teaching Teachers” project will enhance educators’ professional development through technology, and enable K-12 teachers from high-need Minnesota school districts to engage in meaningful collaboration with each other and with content specialists from Saint Mary’s University, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The DOE funds support nationally significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the state and local levels, which will help students meet challenging state academic content standards and achievement standards. STEM projects such as Saint Mary’s are considered critical to meeting the demands of the science labor force in the state and the nation.