National Math and Science Initiative Announces Teacher Training Events in 27 States This Summer

DALLAS, June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a time when most teachers are on break for the summer, the National Math and Science Initiative is hosting one of their largest teacher training events in Oklahoma City this week, one of 76 scheduled nationwide NMSI training events. The trainings will provide rigorous methods and lessons aligned with Common Core State Standards and Advanced Placement* (AP) for more than 6,500 math, science, and English teachers across 27 states.

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"NMSI is proud to be nationally recognized as a leader in teacher training that truly improves student college and career readiness for all students. Our teacher training program is designed to be used with any curriculum including those that are focused on Common Core State Standards," said Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO of NMSI. "The thousands of registrants for this summer's trainings highlight that our nation's teachers are eager to understand how to best incorporate the increased rigor into their classrooms and lessons so that more students succeed."

In addition to elementary and secondary Common Core training, NMSI is offering a customized AP Summer Institute this week for approximately 300 teachers across the country. Most of these teachers participate in NMSI's Comprehensive AP program focused on schools that serve military families.

The opening ceremony will be held in Oklahoma City on June 18^th at Del City High School, which serves families stationed near Tinker Air Force Base. Participants will include Tinker Air Force Base leadership, school officials from Mid-Del Schools, private sector funding partners, and community leaders.

"We are so pleased to welcome the AP Summer Institute to Oklahoma and to Mid-Del Schools.  Our Advanced Placement teachers will have the opportunity to add valuable strategies to their instructional expertise," said Mid-Del Schools' Superintendent Dr. Pam Deering. 

"We are confident that with the right teacher training all students can achieve their goals – especially students from military families – so that they can thrive in the knowledge economy," said Tucker.

In 2012, the Department of Defense Education Activity added $7 million to NMSI's existing grant, with the requirement that an additional $3.5 million in private-sector matching funds is raised.  The $10.5 million will allow NMSI to expand to an additional 25 schools serving military families.

NMSI's Comprehensive AP Program is now producing results in 462 schools in 18 states – 52 are schools serving military families in 15 states. The goal is to reach 200 schools that serve military families which includes an estimated 5,000 teachers and 280,000 students. 

Additional funding for the summer trainings comes from a variety of public and private partners, including the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity, U.S. Department of Education, private funders, and individual school districts.

About National Math and Science Initiative:  NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform education in the United States. NMSI has received national recognition for training K-12 teachers and improving student performance through the rapid expansion of these highly successful programs: NMSI's Comprehensive AP program, NMSI Teacher Training program, and UT Austin's UTeach program. Inaugural funding for NMSI, was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. For more information, visit www.nms.org.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board.

Media Contact:  Mary Ortiz, 214-346-1245, [email protected] ­­­­

SOURCE National Math and Science Initiative