“Mentoring and a sense of community will help first-year teachers cope with classroom challenges,” said Sharon Vestal, coordinator of the Rural Enhancement of Mathematics and Science Teachers (REMAST) program and associate professor of mathematics and statistics at South Dakota State University. In rural America, Facebook groups and Twitter are helping novice teachers connect with their peers and mentors. “We’re producing some amazing teachers,” Vestal said of her work with REMAST, "and they tend to stay in teaching and in the Midwest." REMAST, which is funded by the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, offers scholarships for students in STEM subjects who get their teaching credentials. These programs are helping, but Vestal added, “we’ve got a long way to go when it comes to valuing educators as professionals.”
Vestal, who has been training teachers for nine years, is available to comment on what state governments and schools need to do to attract students to education. She can be reached on her cell phone at 605-695-1489 or [email protected].
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