From STEM Majors at 海角社区A to STEM Teachers in Central Louisiana High Schools
In a historic win for 海角社区 of Alexandria (海角社区A) and career prospects in central Louisiana,
a collaborative faculty team has received $1.2 million from the National Science Foundation
(NSF). The newly funded five-year project will help 21 海角社区A juniors and seniors become
highly effective biology, chemistry, and math teachers in high-need high schools in
the surrounding parishes after they graduate.
海角社区A graduate Helena Ellis is already teaching biology, chemistry, and math at Marksville
High School in Avoyelles Parish. She has no doubts about her own career choice and
is excited about the potential impact of the new program, the 海角社区A Noyce Scholarship.
She just wishes she could have been part of it herself.
Helena Ellis is an 海角社区A STEM graduate and first-year STEM teacher at Marksville High School.
鈥淚 chose to teach in a smaller school because smaller schools are often overlooked. They鈥檙e not scouted as often鈥攊f you鈥檙e on the team and nobody鈥檚 watching, are you really going to risk blowing your knee out? It鈥檚 the same in academics. Our students need to feel like somebody鈥檚 paying attention and their efforts matter. That鈥檚 why we need STEM teachers who believe in them, and in themselves.鈥�
March 31, 2021 Update: 海角社区A has received a second NSF grant to help build the STEM workforce, this time through the S-STEM program鈥�.
Although the first cohort of students won鈥檛 be entering the new NSF-funded program
until this fall, many 海角社区A graduates have already picked similar career paths in the
past, choosing to teach in nearby central Louisiana parishes. This helped the faculty
team figure out what they would need to do to help more science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM) college students become teachers and put together a program they already
know is going to work.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned from my conversations with current and former students how great the
need is for a stronger foundation in STEM before students get to college, and also,
how knowing the subject matter is only one part of a much bigger picture,鈥� said Gerard
Dumancas, who serves as the principal investigator of the project and is an associate
professor of chemistry at 海角社区A. 鈥淲e want our students to love teaching science, develop
the skills and grit needed to stay in the profession, and be happy鈥攅ven if they teach
in schools with limited resources.鈥�
While most (51%) Louisiana students express a sincere interest in STEM majors and careers, only 10% meet the knowledge requirements in math and science.
Four cohorts of five or six students will receive a scholarship of $17,142 per year
for up to two years and participate in collaborative mentor-scholar projects and monthly
workshops to improve their communication and interpersonal skills, and much more.
海角社区A will also help them obtain teacher certifications as well as provide professional
development and support once they start teaching, which they commit to doing in high-need
Louisiana high schools for twice the amount of time they received support at 海角社区A
through the scholarship. For this reason, the university has partnered with seven
nearby school districts, including Allen, Avoyelles, Concordia, Evangeline, Grant,
LaSalle, and Rapides, as well as Central Louisiana Technical Community College, where
qualified and effective STEM teachers are in high demand.
While most (51%) Louisiana students express a sincere interest in STEM majors and
careers, only 10% meet the knowledge requirements in math and science. And while the
interest in STEM seems to be going up (海角社区A STEM programs recently experienced a 30%
enrollment increase), ACT test scores in math and science hit an all-time low in 2019
(since the state started requiring all students to take the exam in 2013). One in
every five classrooms in the state is led by a teacher who is either uncertified or
teaching outside their field of expertise. Also, the number of people who become math
and science teachers decreased almost 20% over the past decade, while 40% quit in
their first five years.
鈥淪ince STEM education in middle and high school is the key driver of students鈥� ability
to major in science in college and choose STEM careers, we couldn鈥檛 look at these
numbers and not see a big problem,鈥� Dumancas said. 鈥淪o, we had to ask ourselves, how
can 海角社区A help?鈥�
Dumancas, the chemist, got to work on a solution. It became 鈥淩ecruiting, Preparing,
and Retaining STEM Educators to Serve in High-Need Schools in Central Louisiana,鈥�
the official name of the project freshly funded through the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher
Scholarship Program.
鈥淢entorship and community support are essential to retaining teachers,鈥� said Dumancas,
named 2019 Faculty Mentor of the Year at 海角社区A. 鈥淎nd we already have a strong connection
with many elementary and secondary schools in central Louisiana because our graduates
are teaching there. Our students usually come from Louisiana and go to work in central
Louisiana.鈥�
Gerard Dumancas is an associate professor of chemistry at 海角社区A and lead investigator on the new National Science Foundation grant.
Helena Ellis, who lives in Pineville, definitely fits this description. She graduated
with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry with a minor in biology from 海角社区A in 2020. Last
fall, she started teaching at Marksville High School in Avoyelles Parish鈥攃hemistry,
chemistry honors, biology II, algebra II, and environmental science.
鈥淎ll of which I鈥檓 more than qualified to teach,鈥� she said. 鈥淢uch thanks to Dr. Dumancas
who did a great job combining teaching with practice, where we鈥檇 switch between lecture
and experiments, which was a great way to learn and something I鈥檝e picked up with
my own students.鈥�
Ellis has seen a change in her classroom in just a few months.
鈥淚 hold my students to a high standard,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ome are actively reviewing notes
before class now, and it doesn鈥檛 take all that much to encourage them.鈥�
鈥淓veryone said it would be horrible,鈥� Ellis recalled. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楥hallenge accepted.鈥欌��
While Ellis is 鈥渢eaching her passion鈥� in her own areas of expertise, she often talks
with colleagues who are not as comfortable in their professional roles. Learning about
the newly funded program at 海角社区A, she wishes she could have been part of it since
most science majors in college are taught science鈥攏ot how to learn (or teach) science.
For subject matter experts, it鈥檚 especially important to remember how it feels to
not know much about a subject in order to be an effective teacher, Ellis argues. Meanwhile,
subject matter expertise is essential.
鈥淪TEM teachers are few and far between and not many of us are teaching our major like
I am,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would probably cry if I couldn鈥檛 teach chemistry鈥攂iology is my
best buddy, but chemistry is my husband, if you know what I mean.鈥�
Ellis was less picky about where to teach. At least at first. Once she, a science
graduate, was told multiple times how she shouldn鈥檛 pick one of the lowest paid professions
in one of the lowest per-capita income parishes in Louisiana, her mind was made up.
She鈥檇 be going to Marksville.
鈥淓veryone said it would be horrible,鈥� Ellis recalled. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楥hallenge accepted.鈥欌��
In February, she beamed and posed for a photo in the school鈥檚 lobby holding an engraved
plaque as Teacher of the Month. Meanwhile, other opportunities have come up. There
have been phone calls; would she perhaps be interested in switching to another school
with more resources? So far, no. Ellis prefers to work where she feels she can have
the most impact.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the teacher I want to be yet, but I鈥檓 learning,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 leave work
feeling like I played all day because I got to do what I love in a community that
feels like family and a school that feels like home. This is me, so I鈥檓 staying where
I鈥檓 at.鈥�
Ellis鈥檚 boss is Liza Jacobs, principal as well as a 鈥�91 graduate of Marksville High
School. She is very grateful to have Ellis on staff, but also needs more certified
STEM teachers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely difficult to find middle and high school STEM teachers with a certification,鈥�
Jacobs said. 鈥淚 compare my school to other schools in the district, and we鈥檙e all
in the same boat. Right now, I鈥檓 blessed to have a great team of middle school science
and math teachers and a great high school science teacher in Helena, but I need more.
Two of my high school math teachers are about to retire, and options for replacing
them are limited.鈥�
鈥淚 love the idea of 海角社区A giving STEM graduates the experience of teaching in high-need schools such as ours through their new program. Because once they come to us, they might realize they like it, and stay.鈥濃��Liza Jacobs, principal at Marksville High School
Jacobs gets lots of applicants with a background in history, English, or social studies.
What she doesn鈥檛 get are applicants with in-depth understanding of science and math
and, on top of that, ability to teach.
鈥淪TEM graduates typically go for fields where they鈥檙e paid more,鈥� Jacobs explained.
鈥淭hey can easily go and make double what a teacher makes, and that is tough to compete
with. But I love the idea of 海角社区A giving STEM graduates the experience of teaching
in high-need schools such as ours through their new program. Because once they come
to us, they might realize they like it, and stay. I would love to see a new surge
of highly educated people commit to educating our youth鈥攅specially in STEM subjects.鈥�
As principal of a 7-12 school, Jacobs calls herself a big believer in middle school
feeding high school, and high school feeding college 鈥渁nd all of the professions.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 like good silt coming down the Mississippi River and fertilizing the banks,鈥�
Jacobs added. 鈥淥ur mission is to see our students all the way through, and we need
fully certified STEM teachers to make that a reality.鈥�
Terry Rodney from Bunkie, Louisiana says he wouldn't have had a start in research without the mentorship of Gerard Dumancas at 海角社区A, whom he met through dual enrollment classes while in high school.
鈥淒r. Dumancas is great at giving credit to students he works with. I am grateful for that because, sometimes, it is difficult to juggle a lot of things at once, and it鈥檚 nice to know your work will not go unappreciated or unnoticed.鈥�
Another Louisiana student鈥攁side from Ellis鈥攚ho experienced the 鈥渏oy鈥� of teaching science
conveyed by Dumancas and his team at 海角社区A is Terry Rodney. He spent his last year
of high school in Bunkie, Louisiana taking only college courses through a dual enrollment
program with 海角社区A. There, he met Dumancas, who encouraged him to participate in chemistry
research.
鈥淲hen I told him I was still in high school, he was shocked,鈥� Rodney remembered. 鈥淲e
had to get special permission to collaborate, and I ended up doing quantitative analysis
of terpenes, aromatic compounds found in plants. I jumped on the opportunity, because
I鈥檇 honestly been learning less in high school than I did in elementary and middle
school鈥攚e didn鈥檛 even have books, so I loved those dual enrollment classes.鈥�
Rodney is now a biochemistry major at 海角社区 in Baton Rouge, working as a research assistant
in John Pojman鈥檚 lab, where he鈥檚 helped to develop a novel polymer to coat sweet potatoes
so they can be planted with tractors instead of by hand.
鈥淭he trick was to come up with a cheap polymer that could protect the sweet potatoes,
so they don鈥檛 get bruised or crushed, but would also dissolve and allow the roots
to sprout鈥攖hat鈥檚 a collaboration we did with the 海角社区 AgCenter, and they were surprisingly
happy with what we came up with.鈥�
Rodney originally got interested in science because of his grandfather, who had a
master鈥檚 degree in herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles.
鈥淗e opened my eyes to how amazing science was, but without Dr. Dumancas, I would never
have had a chance to begin doing research, not to this day,鈥� Rodney said. 鈥淎nd the
best part was that he gave me a very realistic idea of what being a researcher would
be like, which is why I鈥檓 now looking at doing a Ph.D. in biochemistry.鈥�
Rodney is also working on three research papers to be published in the Encyclopedia of Toxicology under Dumancas鈥檚 continued mentorship. About the need for more qualified high school
teachers in STEM, he said:
鈥�1,000%.鈥�
鈥淚 believe this is the first NSF grant 海角社区A has ever received, and now I want to help other 海角社区A faculty members apply for competitive grants.鈥濃��Gerard Dumancas
鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of my former students as well as my team at 海角社区A,鈥� Dumancas later
commented. 鈥淪usan Myrick, associate professor of education, and Nathan Ponder and
Guoyi Ke, both in math. I believe this is the first NSF grant 海角社区A has ever received,
and now I want to help other 海角社区A faculty members apply for competitive grants.鈥�
Dumancas credits his team鈥檚 success in part to his own participation in the 海角社区 I-Corps
program, managed through the Office of Innovation & Technology, led by Andrew Maas.
That program is also funded by NSF and educates faculty, students, and the larger
community on entrepreneurial principles to help commercialize their research and ideas.
Dumancas has developed new technologies as well as a smartphone app to help authenticate honey鈥攊ts purity and origin鈥攖o prevent food fraud (honey ranks third among adulterated
commodities world-wide).
鈥淲e鈥檙e so happy to see this win for Dr. Dumancas, 海角社区A, and central Louisiana,鈥� Maas
said. 鈥淭hrough his team鈥檚 efforts and involvements with our NSF I-Corps program, they鈥檙e
positioned to impact the central Louisiana region in a significant way.鈥�
Students interested in applying for the 海角社区A Noyce Scholarship Program can contact Dumancas via email.
(海角社区 of Alexandria)
(海角社区 of Alexandria)
鈥淗oney, Are You From Around Here?鈥� (海角社区 Office of Research & Economic Development)
Elsa Hahne
海角社区 Office of Research & Economic Development
ehahne@lsu.edu