Newswise — ​​The California State University announced today that it has been awarded two new grants totaling $930,000 from Microsoft. Funding will be utilized to increase the number of scholarships available to teacher education candidates specializing in mathematics, science and computer science, as well as to expand design of computer science courses and mathematics training curriculum for current teachers.

“Microsoft's generous gift helps to support mathematics and quantitative reasoning readiness among future educators," explained the CSU's Assistant Vice Chancellor of Educator Preparation and Public School Programs Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, Ph.D. “Additionally, the scholarships make a huge impact by enabling aspiring teachers to focus on deepening their knowledge and developing proven teaching techniques in these high-demand subjects areas."

The first grant provides $800,000 in scholarship funding to augment financial aid packages for 160 mathematics or science teacher candidates. Each scholarship awardee will receive an additional $5,000 to support their academic endeavors for the 2020-21 academic year. This financial support will allow candidates to focus on increasing their knowledge and skills during their student teaching period and may reduce the number of hours they have to work part-time jobs.

The second grant totaling $130,000 supports CSU's Mathematical Reasoning with Connections (MRWC). MRWC is a CSU faculty-designed fourth-year high school bridge course in quantitative reasoning and mathematics that prepares high school students for the rigor of college-level courses. Of the total, $90,000 will support faculty in their development of 10 units of upper-division level computer science curriculum with the remaining $40,000 for high school teachers who will participate in professional-development to increase their readiness to teach quantitative reasoning and mathematics bridge courses.

“Strong math skills provide the foundation for the most in-demand jobs of today and the foreseeable future," said Kate Johnson, President of Microsoft U.S. “California State University's work to close the State's diversity gap and support the development of the next generation of math and science teachers is inspiring, and we are thrilled to be a partner on this journey."

The CSU's teacher preparation program is the largest in the state and among the largest in the nation, producing more than half of California's new teachers

More information about CSU's Mathematical Reasoning with Connections program can be found here

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About the California State University
The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 53,000 faculty and staff and 482,000 students. Half of the CSU's students transfer from California community colleges. Created in 1960, the mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity, and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 127,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 3.8 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.