The Career Award for Science and Mathematics Teachers is a five-year award available to outstanding science and/or mathematics teachers in the North Carolina public primary and secondary schools. The purpose of this award is to recognize teachers who have demonstrated solid knowledge of science and/or mathematics content and have outstanding performance records in educating children. This five-year award presents opportunities for professional development and collaboration with other master science and/or mathematics teachers who will help to ensure their success as teachers and their satisfaction with the field of teaching. Special consideration will be given to teachers working in hard-to-staff, economically deprived classrooms in North Carolina. The award also offers schools and school districts the opportunity to fully develop teachers as leaders in the field.
Career Awards for Science and Mathematics Teachers provide $175,000 over a period of five years ($35,000 per year) to eligible teachers in the North Carolina public school system. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) will support up to five awards with annual installments as allocated below.
Teacher Salary
• $10,000 stipend will be provided to the school district to supplement the teacher’s annual salary or for fringe benefits, such as retirement or insurance. (In most instances, taxes and benefits will be deducted by the school district.)
• $5,000 will be held annually by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to be given to the teacher at the end of the five-year award, if the teaching professional remains in the K-12 classroom in a North Carolina public school.
• The State Board of Education will provide extra salary support to ensure that award recipients will receive a 12-month contract. The Department of Public Instruction will send these funds to the appropriate LEA beginning July 1 of each year.
School or School District
• $10,000 may be used to purchase needed equipment and supplies for that teacher’s classroom or laboratory or be shared with the teacher’s school or school district.
Professional Development
• $10,000 may be used at the discretion of the teacher for professional development activities, travel and registration to meetings or conferences, hiring substitutes, networking with colleagues, and capacity building for the teacher or a team of teachers.
The award is flexible in allowing teachers to reach beyond their school to build stronger learning communities within the district or region, stimulate collective learning among teacher teams, and develop strategies to build their own capacity as a teaching professional.
