The Future of Our Profession Depends on Our Commitment to Mentoring and Empowering Early-Career Mathematics Teacher Educators
AMTE recognizes the importance of supporting early-career mathematics teacher educators, but we need to ensure we can continue doing this in the long-term. This past summer another cohort of early-career scholars participated in the STaR retreat. For one week they got together to network, collaborate, and learn from experienced scholars in the field about strategies to be successful mathematics teacher educators. They built a support system that will continue throughout the academic year. This past year AMTE also supported a second cohort of early-career BIPOC faculty. These are two ways in which AMTE supports early-career professionals. AMTE also partners with NCTM to award the Early Career Research Grant and AMTE offers several scholarships including the Elementary Mathematics Specialist and the Susan Gay Graduate Student Travel Scholarship. These programs and scholarships are made possible by donations from our members and sponsorships from a few AMTE partners. The challenge we face is that we cannot ensure that these programs can be maintained forever, and the number of scholars served depends on the amount raised each year.
The future of mathematics teacher education depends on our commitment to mentoring and empowering early-career professionals. By guiding them, we shape the leaders who will drive change and inspire future generations. Supporting early-career professionals is not just about their success today; it is about building a stronger, more resilient mathematics teacher education community for tomorrow. This work is aligned to AMTE’s mission of promoting the improvement of all aspects of mathematics teacher education and to AMTE’s long-term goal 3: Engage in community building and other efforts to support the recruitment and retention, diversification, and professional learning of mathematics teacher educators and leaders who serve in a variety of educational contexts.
During this past year the AMTE board of directors has been brainstorming about strategies to ensure that these programs are available to members for many years to come. To this end the AMTE board has taken two measures: 1) Approve the creation of a restricted fund category for early-career efforts; and 2) Approve the creation of a new Fundraising Committee. These new measures aim to provide a structured and sustainable financial foundation to continue these programs. Initial funding will be sourced from existing discretionary funds and reallocated budget items. Ongoing funding will be sought through targeted fundraising efforts, grants, and donations from interested parties and benefactors who support professional development. These new restricted funds will be allowed to grow until they reach a level that will permit to fund these programs from the return on investment. All donations received for the earmarked funds, as well as 10% of all donations received for these programs during the year, will be allocated to the earmarked funds. The remaining donations will be spent during that fiscal year. The initial goals for these funds are as follows.
STaR Program: Annual expense of $50,000 per year. Starting the fund with reserves earmarked for STaR at about $170,000. Long-term goal is to raise $1,000,000 for the STaR program to self-fund each year.
BIPOC Mentoring Program: Annual expense of $10,000. Long-term goal is to raise $250,000 in order to self-sustain.
Early Career Research Grant with NCTM: Annual expense of $5,000 for AMTE. Long-term goal is to raise $125,000.
Elementary Mathematics Specialist: Annual expense $8,000. Long-term goal is to raise $200,000.
Susan Gay Scholarship: Annual expense $1,600. Long-term goal is to raise $40,000.
Long-Term Goal Fundraising Total: $1,615,000
In year one, the goal is to raise 1/10th of the long-term fundraising goal and this will be reevaluated at the end of each year.
These plans cannot succeed without the support and involvement of all AMTE members. To read more about these efforts or to make a donation follow this link. I hope many of you will support these initiatives. Let us keep in mind that mentorship is the bridge between the past and the future of education. When we invest in early-career professionals, we ensure the continuity of excellence and innovation in mathematics teacher education.
Enrique Galindo