KSTF Teaching Fellowship Application Available

MOORESTOWN, N.J., April 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) is accepting applications for its 2017 cohort of Teaching Fellows. The Foundation's signature program supports early-career, secondary science and mathematics teachers as they strive to improve education in their classrooms and beyond. All 2017 KSTF Teaching Fellowship applications are due by 11:59 p.m. PST on November 27, 2016.

Over the course of the five-year Fellowship, KSTF Teaching Fellows receive a comprehensive suite of benefits valued at approximately $150,000, including:
 
- membership in a community of 300 like-minded peers in 40 states,
 
- stipends,
 
- funds for professional development,
 
- grants for teaching materials,
 
- mentoring and support from experienced teachers and teacher educators, and
 
- support for teacher leadership activities.
 
"KSTF understands that teachers are capable of driving of educational improvement," said Nicole Gillespie, Executive Director, KSTF. "Through the Teaching Fellows Program, we equip our Fellows with the tools and experiences needed to develop as teacher leaders. On a daily basis, KSTF Fellows are leveraging this knowledge to improve education in their classrooms, schools, districts, and beyond."
 
Emily Berman, KSTF Teaching Fellow, 2015 Cohort stated, "Beginning your teaching career is extremely difficult. The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation community has provided me with support throughout the ups and downs of my first year in the classroom. The Fellowship has allowed me to connect with brilliant educators across the country, and this network of support inspires and challenges me every day."
 
Each year, KSTF awards approximately 35 Fellowships to early-career, high school science and mathematics teachers who exhibit the potential to develop:
 
- the content knowledge needed for teaching,
 
- exemplary teaching practices, and
 
- the qualities of a teacher leader.
 
To learn more about the application process and selection criteria, visit www.kstf.org/fellowships/criteria-and-eligibility.
 
KSTF staff recently completed their selection of the members of its 2016 Cohort of Teaching Fellows. This year's cohort is made up of 34 teachers - including two AmeriCorp members, a Peace Corps volunteer, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, a National Parks Service Park Ranger, a news producer for the Fuji Television Network, seven with advanced degrees in their discipline, and two participants in Engineers Without Borders.  A brief biography of each new Fellow will be available at www.kstf.org in the coming weeks.
 
About KSTF                                                                                                                                             
 
The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) was established by Janet H. and C. Harry Knowles in 1999 to increase the number of high quality high school science and mathematics teachers and ultimately, improve math and science education in the United States. The KSTF Teaching Fellows Program, the Foundation's signature program, awards five-year Fellowships to promising early-career, secondary science and mathematics teachers, and supports them in their efforts to improve education in their own classrooms and beyond. For more information, visit www.kstf.org.