Middle School Educators Begin Professional Learning Fellowship in 2019-20 Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy

The Northrop Grumman Foundation and the National Science Teaching Association announced the selection of 26 middle school science, technology, and engineering teachers as 2019-20 Teacher Fellows in the Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy. Selected from school districts in communities where Northrop Grumman operates across the country, the Teacher Fellows will participate in a variety of science, technology, and engineering-related activities and professional learning opportunities.

“We are excited to welcome this year’s teaching fellows to the Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy,” said Stephanie Fitzsimmons K-12 STEM Education Programs Manager, Northrop Grumman. “These professional educators will embark on a year-long journey with us and NSTA culminating in a hands-on externship engaging with our engineers and technologists to help build the bridge between their classrooms and our communities.”

“This is truly a remarkable group of educators, dedicated to expanding their knowledge base and improving their teaching skills in order to reach all students,” said NSTA Executive Director Dr. David Evans. “We congratulate this year’s cohort of Teacher Fellows and look forward to supporting them in their efforts to transform STEM education.”

The Teacher Fellows were selected on the basis of several criteria, including displaying a strong desire to advance STEM education and apply real-world applications in the classroom. During their fellowship, recipients will:

  • Attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in Boston, Massachusetts and pre-conference special events, April 1-5, 2020;
  • Participate in a summer five-day workshop at a Northrop Grumman facility in Los Angeles, where they will continue to explore teaching strategies and programs for integrating effective and authentic engineering design practices and workforce skills in their classroom;
  • Participate in an immersive, 60-70-hour externship at a local Northrop Grumman facility, where they will be partnered with an engineer/technologist to observe and experience critical workforce skills in action;
  • Engage in online professional learning through a comprehensive NSTA membership package which offers a variety of web-based professional learning activities, including a specially designated online learning community;
  • Develop classroom materials that integrate an authentic, real-world application linked to the externship experiences; and
  • Access resources and develop strategies to share their learning with colleagues so they can build capacity within their schools and districts.

Launched in 2016, the Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy was created to help enhance teacher confidence and classroom excellence in science, technology, and engineering, while increasing teacher understanding about the skills needed for a scientifically literate workforce.

For a list of the 2019-20 Teacher Fellows or to learn more about the Northrop Grumman Foundation Teachers Academy, visit http://www.nsta.org/northropgrumman/.

About the Northrop Grumman Foundation

Northrop Grumman and the Northrop Grumman Foundation are dedicated to expanding and enhancing sustainable science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education opportunities for students globally. With an emphasis on middle school and university level students, our engineering and technology-based partnerships are designed to excite, engage and educate students as they defend cyber networks, engineer autonomous vehicles, explore space and more. In addition, we provide workforce-relevant professional development to middle school educators to advance their competence in teaching STEM subjects, in turn, inspiring students to explore STEM careers and increasing their STEM skills proficiency.

About the National Science Teaching Association

The Arlington, Virginia-based National Science Teaching Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning, preschool through college. NSTA’s membership includes approximately 50,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business representatives, and others involved in science education.