Wednesday, June 7, 2006                                                                   Printable Version (PDF)

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-5), during her first mark-up as a member of the Science Committee, offered an amendment to the Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act (H.R. 5358), which was adopted by voice vote. The amendment directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to report on the effectiveness of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at retaining participants in the teaching profession beyond their standard service commitment of four years.  

“To successfully maintain our leadership in math and science, this country needs teachers who will devote their professional career to teaching these subjects, not just a few years out of college. This amendment will allow us to see how successful the redesigned and expanded Noyce Teacher Scholarship is at producing such truly committed individuals,” stated Congresswoman Matsui.   â€œI appreciate the committee’s support in accepting my amendment and applaud the members’ spirit of bipartisanship in addressing the critical issue of our nation’s long-term competitiveness.”

The Noyce Scholarship Program at NSF was established in 2002 and strengthened and expanded by H.R. 5358. It provides scholarships to students majoring in science, math or engineering who commit to teaching four years in return for two years of financial aid.  The program provides money to colleges and universities both to award and administer the scholarships as well as to provide programs to help prepare the students for teaching.

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