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Press Release

Boosting teacher retention is a shared goal of Urban Teacher Education Program and Knowles Science Foundation

Contact: Katelyn Silva
University of Chicago
Urban Education Institute
773-834-8684

July 12, 2012 - Angela Lou, a University of Chicago Urban Teacher Education Program candidate, is the winner of the prestigious Knowles Science Teaching Fellowship, a major national teaching award committed to keeping high-caliber beginning teachers in the profession. 

Getting the very best teachers to commit to teaching on a long-term basis is critical. In 1987-88, the most common level of experience among teachers was 15 years, according to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. In 2007-08, that number stood at just one to two years. 

The fellowship is awarded to high school mathematics and science teachers at the start of their careers. Winners receive $175,000 over five years and the mentoring and professional development to remain in a complex and challenging profession.

Lou, who graduated from Harvard University with a BS in human evolutionary biology, will also receive five years of intensive mentoring, support and professional development through her participation in the MA-degree granting University of Chicago Urban Teacher Education Program. During her time with UChicago UTEP, Lou will experience a full calendar year in the classroom, a hands-on, intensive model that is unusual in the teacher preparation field, as well as three years of support and professional development after graduation.

“Teacher retention is a vital issue for urban schools. UChicago UTEP is designed to address that issue in several ways,” said Doug O’Roark, director of Secondary Mathematics and Biology Teacher Preparation at UChicago UTEP. “First, our two-year program allows time to address issues of race, class, culture, and gender in-depth so that students are well prepared for urban classrooms. Second, our students complete two residency placements in two Chicago public schools so that they leave the program with deep and varied experience. Finally, our model supports students through three years of induction after graduation, including frequent coaching visits and group support meetings with an emphasis on inquiry where our graduates collectively analyze their developing teaching methods.”

The UChicago UTEP model is resulting in teacher retention rates that far exceed the national average. According to the National Education Association, half of new teachers will exit the profession entirely within five years, while UChicago UTEP graduates have retention rates of 96 percent over five years.

After completing the UChicago UTEP program in 2013, Lou plans to teach biology in a Chicago public school that serves a predominantly low-income community and persist within that teaching environment.  “I have the best job in the world. I see these kids, and I like what I see.”

“Both UChicago UTEP and the Knowles Fellowship help to ground me in a community of teachers who care deeply about improving thinking and practice in education. For me, learning and teaching are highly collaborative endeavors,” said Lou. “I am grateful for the colleagues I have met and will meet through these programs and the mutual learning opportunities that spring up when we work together. “

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