STEM in Action Community Impact Program
In a nutshell, the public education system needs more mathematics and science educators. The Business in Higher Education Forum states that by the year 2015, the United States will face a shortage of 282,720 teachers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas.5 Many STEM courses are presently taught by unqualified teachers. The state of Texas is also facing a growing shortage of STEM educators and a growing number of unqualified teachers in the STEM areas. Recognizing the importance of high academic achievement, civic engagement, and service learning, the Office of the Governor and Texas Campus Compact (TXCC) created a competitive scholarship program to help develop future STEM educators. TXCC then collaborated with the Austin Community College District (ACC) to develop the STEM in Action Community Impact program model (STEM in Action CI).