Program offers to fund master's degrees for math and science teachers in rural high schools

Nationwide, schools need more teachers for math and science, and the need is even greater in rural areas. A new program aims to attract some teachers to rural areas with the promise of a money for a master's degree, reports Brian Wallheimer of the Journal and Courier in West Lafayette, Ind.

Funded by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the program will begin in Indiana and will make master's degrees "available for undergraduates finishing their degrees and thinking about teaching or others in the math and science fields who want to change careers," Wallheimer writes. "They must commit to teaching in a rural school for at least three years."

Four Indiana schools — Ball State University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, the University of Indianapolis and Purdue University — will work with the fellows on their master's degrees and will continue to guide the fellows after they start teaching. The program's goal is to add 80 fellows each year and possibly reach 400 annually soon. The first fellows would enter rural classrooms in 2010. After Indiana, other states will join the program. (Read more) For the official news release on the program, go here.