MƒA Provides $15M to 1,000+ NYC Teachers in 2017

NEW YORK, NY – Math for America (MƒA) today announced that it has awarded over 300 four-year fellowships to mathematics and science teachers across New York City. These teachers join a community of more than 1,000 MƒA fellows, who are highly accomplished, full-time classroom teachers in a New York City public school. Each year, MƒA awards stipends to its teachers totaling over $15 million and $600,000 toward travel to conferences and purchases of classroom materials.

MƒA is privately funded, with most of its support provided by the Simons Foundation. During 2013-2017, MƒA invested approximately $110 million in its NYC fellowships as well as advocating for similar fellowship programs across the country. MƒA plans to invest even more in NYC over the next five years – an investment of more than $225 million in math and science teachers over a decade.

Throughout each school year, MƒA teachers engage in a wide range of high quality, STEM-focused professional courses and community events, many of which are designed and facilitated by the teachers themselves. The professional development program is created around the interests of the MƒA teaching community and provide yearlong opportunities for the fellows to deepen their content knowledge, refine and expand their skills, and collaborate with other teachers to examine the best ways to teach every student in their respective classrooms.

“MƒA fellows are accomplished professionals,” said John Ewing, MƒA President, “and we want them to stay in the classroom. The stipends are meant to recognize their achievement, to convey prestige on the teaching profession, and to reward them for their effort in MƒA. We ask much from our teachers, in both time and talent; we should compensate them as we would any highly skilled professionals.”

“Great teachers often leave the classroom, not only because of low pay but because they seek leadership opportunities that are outside of the classroom,” said Megan Roberts, MƒA Executive Director. “While our financial support is an important part of the fellowship model, the core of MƒA centers around recognizing teacher excellence. By creating opportunities for teachers to teach each other, the community becomes a collaborative professional powerhouse and exemplifies true leadership.”

“The financial support from MƒA – in the form of yearly stipends, professional grants, and resource funding – is incredible. But the community is truly the greatest benefit of an MƒA fellowship,” said Patrick Honner, an 11-year MƒA Master Teacher. “The MƒA community challenges us to learn and lead, through unique professional opportunities that recognize teachers as both learners and experts. It inspires us to continually grow as teachers, and provides the support we need to be successful. And above all, it's a place where I always feel like a respected professional, surrounded by other respected professionals.”

MƒA by the Numbers: 2017

Over 1,000 MƒA Teachers

• More than 800 Master Teachers
• Nearly 200 Early Career Teachers

Over 500 Mathematics Teachers + 500 Science Teachers

• 75% teach High School
• 25% teach Middle School or Elementary School
• MƒA teachers teach in 400 public schools
• MƒA teachers teach more than 110,000 students

MƒA Teachers Stay in the Classroom

• Over 450 have been teaching for 10 or more years
• Nearly 400 have been teaching for five to nine years
• Nearly 200 have been teaching for one to four years

Borough Breakdown

• More than 350 teach in Manhattan
• More than 300 teach in Brooklyn
• Nearly 200 teach in the Bronx
• More than 150 teach in Queens
• More than 20 teach in Staten Island