Washington, D.C.--Lehman College is receiving a $591,040 U.S. Department of Education grant to prepare Pre-K to 6th grade science teachers who will then teach some 1,500 children annually in Bronx schools, Congressman Eliot Engel announced.

The two-year grant will allow Lehman to prepare 40 teachers who will earn their Masters Degrees to become professionally certified as elementary school teachers with enriched science content knowledge. They will teach at schools in low-income neighborhoods, throughout the Bronx, which enroll a significant number of Hispanic- American students.

Rep. Engel said, “This grant is part of a nationwide program to address a nationwide crisis in American science education. American children are lagging behind other countries in science. If our country and our children are to thrive in the international economy, we must educate them in these subjects.”

“We are extremely pleased that this grant will enable Lehman College to enhance the teaching of science to children in the Bronx,” said Mary Papazian, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lehman College. “Investing in the preparation of science teachers is one of the most effective ways to strengthen science teaching, and the support from the US Department of Education for such an important project couldn’t come at a better time. “

Deborah Eldridge, Dean of the division of education at Lehman College, commented that “The grant offers an innovative model for teacher education that meets urgent national and local needs for science educators at the elementary school level. We welcome the opportunity to lead the way in the Bronx.”

The 11-term congressman, who was a teacher before going to Congress, said this program brings an innovative approach by engaging graduate students who are teachers and integrating courses at the schools and at the college. The program will also link teacher practice with student outcomes.