Tuesday, February 4, 2014


For Immediate Release:                            
February 4, 2014                                                 

Contact: Amber Taylor
703-201-4893 

Project Tomorrow Named as Partner in 100Kin10, National Network to Grow STEM Teaching Force

Project Tomorrow’s YouthTEACH2Learn Program Educates High School Students about Teaching Careers

Irvine, Calif. Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization, is one of the latest partners of 100Kin10, a multi-sector network addressing the national imperative to train 100,000 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers by 2021.

“Being selected as a 100kin10 partner will support our on-going efforts to help recruit new teachers in California,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. “Our YouthTEACH2Learn initiative is providing high school students the opportunity to learn about teaching, and it is developing new pipelines for math and science teachers – a perfect fit for 100kin10’s ambitious national goal.”

Project Tomorrow’s YouthTEACH2Learn program is a career exploration program where students gain first-hand experiences with teaching as a career. During the high school or after school program, students learn about teaching strategies and gain practical experience by developing and teaching standards-based math and science lessons to younger students in neighboring elementary schools. As Project Tomorrow is the host organization for the California Future Educators Association, these young educators also have the opportunity to pursue career development activities with peers in after school chapter activities at their high school and in their community.   

As part of 100Kin10, Project Tomorrow has committed to recruit 2,050 excellent STEM teacher candidates, with 25 percent of those new teachers coming from groups traditionally under-represented in STEM, in California by 2018. Project Tomorrow aims to achieve this goal by leveraging the organization’s innovative programming that puts a focus on moving the starting line for teacher career development from college to high school.  

More and better-trained STEM teachers are essential to prepare America’s students to fully participate in our democracy and to understand and respond to complex national and global challenges. To compete in the global marketplace and provide opportunity to all young Americans, all students—not  just those fortunate enough to attend certain schools— must have basic STEM skills and knowledge. Project Tomorrow is one of nearly 200 100Kin10 partners unified by a single, ambitious goal: to prepare all students with the high-quality STEM knowledge and skills to equip them for success in college and the workplace.

Organizations are accepted as 100Kin10 partners following a rigorous vetting process conducted by a team of partner reviewers and the University of Chicago. Reviewers are looking for organizations that bring innovation, boldness, and a proven track-record to their commitment(s) toward expanding, improving, and retaining the best of the nation’s STEM teaching force, or building the 100Kin10 movement.  A complete list of partners is available on the 100Kin10 website.

As partners fulfill their ambitious commitments and work together to spark innovation, they have access to exclusive opportunities—including competitive research opportunities, solution labs, collaboration grants, a growing research and learning platform, and a funding marketplace. Each of these is designed to foster collaborative problem-solving and support partners in fulfilling their ambitious commitments.

In January 2014, 100Kin10 launched its third fund with $5 million and leadership from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and the Overdeck Family Foundation. To date, 100Kin10 funding partners have committed more than $57 million in support of the work of the partners. Over $31 million has already been distributed to partner organizations in 99 grants since the first fund launched in June 2011.

In the first two years of the effort, 100Kin10 partners who have committed to increase the supply of great STEM teachers have recruited and prepared 12,412 teachers. They are projected to prepare just shy of 37,000 teachers by 2016, five years into the project’s ten-year timeline. The network’s continued growth (through organizations such as those announced here) will add to this total number. In addition, nearly 75 partners are working to support and improve existing teachers so that more of them stay in the profession, with the goal of over time reducing the need for so many new teachers entering the workforce.

About Project Tomorrow
Project Tomorrow® is the nation’s leading education nonprofit organization dedicated to the empowerment of student voices in education.  We believe that by supporting the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the 21st century. We approach our mission through national research projects, the development of innovative career exploration projects in schools and communities, online tools and resources for students, teachers and parents, and national and regional advocacy efforts.  Learn more at www.tomorrow.org

About 100Kin10
100Kin10 is a multi-sector network that responds to the national imperative to train and retain 100,000 excellent science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers by 2021. http://www.100kin10.org/


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