Obama plans $1B effort to build "Master Teacher Corps" of elite math, science teachers

President Obama speaks during a fundraising event, July 17, 2012, in San Antonio. / AP

(AP) WASHINGTON - The Obama administration unveiled plans Wednesday to create an elite corps of master teachers, a $1 billion effort to boost U.S. students' achievement in science, technology, engineering and math.

The program to reward high-performing teachers with salary stipends is part of a long-term effort by President Obama to encourage education in high-demand areas that hold the key to future economic growth — and to close the achievement gap between American students and their international peers.

Teachers selected for the Master Teacher Corps will be paid an additional $20,000 a year and must commit to participate multiple years. The goal is to create a multiplier effect in which expert educators share their knowledge and skills with other teachers, improving the quality of education for all students.

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Speaking at a rally for his re-election campaign in San Antonio on Tuesday, Obama framed his emphasis on expanded education funding as a point of contrast with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, whom he accused of prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy over reinvestment in the nation.

"I'm running to make sure that America has the best education system on earth, from pre-K all the way to post-graduate," Obama said. "And that means hiring new teachers, especially in math and science."

The administration will make $100 million available immediately out of an existing fund to incentivize top-performing teachers. Over the longer term, the White House said it plans to launch the program with $1 billion included in Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2013.

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But the House and Senate both voted down Obama's budget earlier in the year, making it far from certain that Obama will be able to get congressional approval to spend $1 billion on master teachers.

U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.)

/ Getty

An aide to Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, noted that the federal government already has more than 80 teacher quality programs and said it would be foolish to pump money into programs that may be duplicative or unproductive.

"Republicans share the president's goal of getting better teachers in the classroom," said Kline spokeswoman Alexandra Sollberger. "However, we also value transparency and efficient use of taxpayer resources."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he expected the two parties to come together to support achievement in areas of high demand.

"This initiative has nothing to do with politics," Duncan said. "It's absolutely in our country's best long-term economic interest to do a much better job in this area."

A report released in February by the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology found that the U.S. must increase by 34 percent the number of students receiving degrees in science, math and related fields to keep up with economic demand.

The program will start with 2,500 teachers divided up among 50 different sites, the White House said, but will grow to include 10,000 teachers over the next four years. Obama, in partnership with a coalition of groups including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has set a goal of producing 100,000 additional math and science teachers over the next 10 years.

[shoran49]

As I said in my earlier comment, The Private Sector is doing this quite successfully. It is called the NIMSI grants and it is advertised nightly by EXXON Mobil. I went through my CS training this summer in Kileen, TX (I Teach in Indiana). Our school sent over a dozen teachers to Indianapolis as did many other IN schools who asked to be involved. This is WAAAY better than another gov program. All of our state CS teachers (who applied) went to TX

[shoran49]

As usual, Mr. Obama is well behind the curve. The Private Sector is already here with a system in place. For those who do not actually WATCH CBS, the network (and others) have been inundated by Exxon Mobil advertisements about NIMSI, the National Math, Science (and Technology) Initiative. This summer they have been training our best and brightest all over the country. I went through my Computer Science AP Training down in Kileen, TX with over 100 other teachers from around the country. We do not need another government program to replicate what industry has been doing for the last FIVE years VERY successfully. For those who are NOT in this cadre, please google NIMSI.

[drman2]

What a slap in the face to those who want to teach, but not the STEM subjects. Are we to believe that only certain teachers deserve extra money? I guess anyone going into teaching (at least at the middle or high school level) would be foolish not to have science or math as the focus. Of course, since all teachers are in it not for the money for the joy of helping youth, it shouldn't matter anyway.

[hillzhavays]

by nolalou2 July 18, 2012 4:19 PM EDT
Fact is, you're an idiot! How has the president 'pandered to illegals, those refusing to work, etc?
The Fact is, this country IS behind is math and science scores, and this is an investment in our future! Fact is the Tea Party is made up of a bunch of anti-science morons who have taken over the GOP!
_____________________________________

You gullible rube, did you just get off the boat or what? This is nothing more than a transparent and pathetic marketing ploy for Campaign Obama. He knows full well this doesn't have a snowball's chance to pass. It's an image gambit. And further, the point has been made by several that if we made effective use of the money we already spend on teachers we wouldn't need the billion. Keep drinking the Koolaid.

[ThomasSense]

The turnover rate is high for new teachers. In 2007, it cost $7billion a year nationally. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062002300.html
President Obama's incentive to reward excellent teachers in critical areas seems like a pittance.
46% of new teachers leave the profession in 5 years.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/03/08/high-teacher-turnover-rates-are-a-big-problem-for-americas-public-schools/
President Obama's idea would reward excellence, retain teachers, and set a higher standard for other teachers.

[ThomasSense]

A great teacher can make a difference in 150 students lives each year. A great teacher can motivate and challenge students to accomplish high goals. There is a huge difference between a great teacher and a person with a college degree. Incentives can motivate greatest in teachers and rewards acknowledge a teacher's skill.

Some teachers get an extra certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. It takes a lot of work and the reward is small.
http://www.nbpts.org/become_a_candidate/the_benefits

[TimeToEvolve]

Republicons do not want educated people because they would question the party line fed to them by Wall Street. And they would not listen to the racist, uneducated, drug addled blowhard Rush Limpballs.

[hillzhavays]

still as gullible as always I see, eh time?

[CaptainSmollett]

Obama's solution to everything is bigger government and more spending. But with $16 trillion in debt, how much more can we take?
In any case, there aren't enough jobs for college graduates, anyway. Over 50% of recent college graduates are unemployed or under-empoloyed due to the lack of opportunity. Creating more opportunity should be our #1 priority, not over-educating our unemployed.

[hypnotoad72]

I wholly agree with your second paragraph, but want to nitpick the first:

But when businesses don't get money, they go under. Since nobody has money to spend, that doesn't help businesses either... So the inferred solution of not spending isn't going to help anyone either.

Maybe if we stopped offshoring jobs, and stopped giving corporations that offshored jobs taxpayer money in the form of subsidies and bailouts, we wouldn't have ended up $16T in the hole.

I'm surprised the country has lasted this long. I'm surprised it lasted when we hit $3T in the early-1990s...

[hillzhavays]

hypno, the offshoring thing is way overblown. IF a monkey could do the job you do, you are likely to lose your job to a cheaper monkey, and that monkey will be offshore, in a cheap labor market. That's just the way it is. People need to stop crying about the realities of life and get on with it. Offshoring jobs did not cause this problem and it is not practical to think it's any part of the solution.

[JamesSao]

We don't need higher Ed payoff. We need to fire underperforming K-12 eduactors who keep turning out the same unqualified students year after year. Ther is alredy plenty of money spent on education but as long as there is an NEA or AFT there will never be "good" teachers.

[michaelz06]

Although I generally agree with the sentiment, your spelling doesn't say much for the argument...

[2happy2ride]

So far he's thrown money at or pandered to: the unions, the illegals, the welfare recipients, those refusing to work, the gays & lesbians, those wanting to have selective sex abortions & now the teachers of ONLY math & science.
Fact is, he's done NOTHING but HURT the entire country with his class & entrepreneurial warfare.

[jschm2681]

nola- you're making gross generalizations about the Tea Party and you probably never talked to a member. It is not so much to ask for the government to use our tax money wisely and to live within its means.

[michaelz06]

nolalou2, here's your chance to call someone else an "idiot"....he pandered for votes with the executive decision not to pursue deportation of certain illegals. That was primarily aimed at the Latino voters. His support of gay marriage (which has no legal weight by itself) was aimed at securing that block of voters. Do I need to go on and point out the timing? We have been behind for years, why introduce this proposal now? We need better teachers in general, but we also need to figure out to pay for what we want. Sine you used the term, I will borrow from you....to keep going further into debt for things like this is idiotic.

[Martha12345]

While the idea is interesting, we're in a zero sum game. No more debt increases and moving forward towards debt reduction. He'll need to cut the budget elsewhere for the billon.

[RepubsAreFiscallyLiberal]

I'm fine with that.

Why don't you fiscal lib RINOs want to cut the other expenses???

We protect other nations, rather than simply protecting the US. It has cost us more than anything else, especially considering the interest alone is approaching $1 trillion/year.

- Cut down the military to constitutional levels.
- Stop foreign aid of all types.
- Let other nations fend for themselves, and take care of their own problems.
- Get rid of tax credits and subsidies for ALL - people AND corporations.

Then the economy would be just fine - no question.