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Lipscomb Noyce Scholars Program

Preparing secondary STEM teachers to teach in high-need schools

NSF logoDo you enjoy math and science and want to make a difference in the lives of kids? Are you interested in being a middle school or high school teacher? The Lipscomb Noyce Scholars Program is a scholarship and outreach program that encourages and supports talented STEM majors to become 6th-12th grade math and science teachers. The goal of this program is to develop highly qualified STEM teachers who are committed to teaching in high-need school districts.

Read the news article about this $1.2 million NSF grant and Lipscomb University's work to recruit future educators.

Metro Nashville Public Schools logo

All across the nation, school districts continually face a shortage of math and science teachers in middle and high schools. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee State Board of Education estimate that only 10% of subject-area endorsements received each year in Tennessee are in a STEM subject. This shortage is particularly acute in high-need school districts that struggle to attract and retain highly-qualified teachers. The Lipscomb Noyce Scholars Program has partnered with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools to address this STEM teacher shortage locally. With over 82,000 students, MNPS is the second largest school district in the state of Tennessee and serves a very diverse population of students from various racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Together with MNPS, Lipscomb is working to increase the number of highly-qualified STEM teachers and prepare them with the training and experience needed to be effective in high-need schools.

Noyce Scholars Group Photo

About the Program

This program is funded through the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship Program and is a joint collaboration between Lipscomb's College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Noyce Scholars receive the following:

  • Up to $16,500 per year in scholarship money during their junior and senior years
  • Professional development opportunities in STEM education and culturally responsive teaching
  • Support for passing teaching licensure exams
  • Mentoring support throughout their training at Lipscomb and during their first years of teaching

Scholarship recipients are required to complete two years of teaching in a high-need school district for each year of support.

Community college transfer students are especially encouraged to apply.

Meet Our Scholars

Abigail

Abigail Thompson

Abby is from St. Louis, MO, and is a Mathematics and Mathematics Education major. She loves math because it has always served as a way for people to make sense of the complex and confusing world, giving them the tools to explore topics deeper and get a better understanding of the world we live in. Abby wants to be in a position to make STEM fields more accessible for students of all different backgrounds. She recognizes the power and influence that teachers have over their students and wants to use it for good, to encourage students to chase their dreams no matter what other people tell them is attainable. 

Ellen

Ellen Smith

Ellie is from Georgetown, KY, and is a Biology Education major. She is passionate
about science because it has real-life, often life-changing, applications. She loves
that science is always evolving and there will always be something new to learn. Ellie wants to teach science because she wants to create a safe environment for her
students to make mistakes and learn from them, which is a core practice of scientific
study. She wants to play a part in helping students grow into who they want to be,
even the ones who may not love science as much as she does.

Emily

Emily Lanham

Emily is from Nashville, TN, and is a Mathematics Education major. She loves the way that math allows her to develop an understanding of the world around her and to challenge her in different ways. Emily wants to teach math because the math classroom has always been a safe space for her, and she feels it would be such a privilege to be able to give that to someone else.

Madison

Madison Middleton

Maddie is from New Baden, IL, and is a Biology Education major. What she loves most about science is unlearning the stereotypes involving the need to be analytical in order to succeed in this field and instead learning the joys and creativity that can stem from a scientific lifestyle. Maddie wants to be a science teacher in order to teach students about what the world has to offer and how they can help it grow and change through the things they learn, do, create, and experience. Students can all choose to be scientists so long as they are asking questions about everything.

Mateen

Mateen Hasan

Mateen is from Erbil, Iraq, and is a Biology Education major. He loves that science has shown him truth in the world, and he feels he has become an expert at observing and identifying different behaviors in the living things around us. Mateen wants to teach science because he thinks STEM is the key to seeing the world with an ethical and well-learned eye. He believes that without a good sense of STEM in the coming generation, our society stands to sacrifice a very fruitful age of innovation and opportunity. It is the work of dedicated STEM teachers that will produce this generation of innovators and inventors.

Sarah Antonio

Sarah Antonio

Sarah Antonio is from Simi Valley, California. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Teaching.

Meet Our Faculty

Kara Krinks

Dr. Kara Krinks

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Faculty biography
Brandon Banes

Dr. Brandon Banes

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

Faculty biography
Tamera Klingbyll

Ms. Tamera Klingbyll

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

Faculty biography
Emily Medlock

Dr. Emily Medlock

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Faculty biography
Rebekah Tran

Rebekah Tran

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Staff biography