PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Minority Achievement, Creativity, and High-Ability Center (MACH-III) at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has secured support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation with a grant totaling $1,499,636. The funds will support the MACH-III Center in developing a framework that will increase the number of Black males in public schools who teach students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM.
“We are gratified that the Kellogg Foundation has seen fit to support the outstanding work of the MACH-III Center. Its successful model to increase the presence of Black male teachers in classrooms will bring new insights to principals and superintendents and doubtless enhance the performance and overall educational experience of many students,” said PVAMU President Ruth J. Simmons.
This work by the MACH-III Center addresses the national call to increase the number of Black teachers in P-12 classrooms, especially Black male teachers in STEM disciplines and fields.
“A recent study found that having just one Black teacher in third, fourth, or fifth grade reduced low-income Black boys’ probability of dropping out of high school by 39 percent,” said Fred A. Bonner II, Ed.D., executive director and chief scientist of MACH-III. “We not only decrease the rate at which Black boys drop out of school but also exponentially increase their chances for academic success and their likelihood for taking college entrance examinations when they are exposed to Black teachers in general and Black male teachers in particular.”
The Kellogg Foundation’s award supports MACH-III Center’s strategic focus on Black male achievement and success, as well as its nascent minority success in its STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) Disciplines and Fields initiative, which includes collaborations across key disciplines in the arts and sciences.
“PVAMU’s MACH-III Center is uniquely positioned within a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) setting at PVAMU. This positioning within a culturally enriching environment is foundational for research,” said Bonner. “The outstanding opportunity that the Kellogg Foundation has provided us will support our exploration and ultimate development of a model initiative that can be replicated and scaled to school districts and systems across the country as they seek to enhance their Black male teacher pipelines. I am thrilled that the MACH-III Center and PVAMU can play a vital role in this process.”
The grant will also allow MACH-III to address the long-standing national problem of producing and retaining minorities in the STEM workforce.
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