About the UC African American Initiative For Math/Science

Research on attracting and retaining qualified African American teachers in the urban schools suggests teachers who come from similar socio-economic backgrounds as their students are more likely to stay in the teaching profession, and are also more likely to continue teaching in the inner city. That’s because they’re already familiar with the cultural environment in urban school systems and the challenges they face. National figures suggest 50 percent of all new teachers in urban schools leave the profession within the first five years of teaching.

The African American Initiative for Math/Science (AAIMS) is a model five-year program that will provide full tuition through graduation for 25 qualifying UC students entering the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) this fall. UC will also support housing for the student’s first year in the program.

Goals of the initiative:
    The initiative is meant to achieve four key goals:

• Improve math and science education for African American children in urban schools, primarily children in grades seven through 12
• Increase the number of African American math and science teachers in urban schools
• Develop a model teacher preparation program that specifically addresses the above needs
• Increase retention of African American students in the UC teacher education program and in teaching jobs in urban schools

Three-tiered program:

The UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services will combine its resources in preparing highly qualified teachers with a College of Engineering program, the UC Emerging Ethnic Engineers (E³) Program to retain minorities in engineering fields. The new initiative has built a three-tiered program that’s similar to that of the Emerging Ethnic Engineers:

• Tier One – Students admitted to the African American Initiative for Math/Science (AAIMS) will attend the E³ Summer Bridge Program June 20-July 30. They will live in the residence halls during the six-week program, which prepares them for their freshman math and science courses. This program is intensive, including study in English, physics, chemistry and calculus or pre-calculus. They may earn three credit hours for their English class. Their day will start at 9 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. Evening study hours will be held from 6-8 p.m.
• Tier Two – During the five-year program, students will complete a curriculum that will fulfill the requirements to graduate, include intensive study in science and math, and earn State of Ohio teacher certification. During their first year in the program, the students will be taking E³ courses and interacting with engineering students in the E³ program.
• Tier Three – AAIMS is designed to provide financial, academic and emotional support to keep students on track toward becoming teachers in the urban schools. Daily and weekly support activities, regular conferences with UC faculty and student advisors, mentoring by upperclassmen, and participation in other informal discussion groups is meant to build on their success.

How students qualify:
To be considered for the program, current African American high school seniors must be attending an urban school, including but not limited to Cincinnati Public Schools. Students must also demonstrate the following achievements:

• Three years of high school math
• Two years of high school science
• Leadership
• A rank in the top half of their graduating high school class
• A minimum of 850 on their SAT

After they graduate:
The effectiveness of the program will be measured by the number of students who graduate and take teaching jobs in urban schools. After graduation, the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services will stay in contact with the new graduates to determine how long they remain in teaching, specifically in the inner city.