UCCS shares in $1 million grant to hype math in Eagle County

A $1 million grant the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will share with two other educational entities will teach 90 secondary school math teachers in Eagle County how to instruct kids how numbers can be fun.

UCCS’ Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education will share the money with the Eagle County School District and the Consortium on Reading Excellence in Berkeley, Calif. The Colorado Department of Education provided the award using funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

The UCCS center focuses on enhancing the workforce of scientists and engineers through programs that target elementary through college students.

The three-year professional development program in Eagle County will be monitored by looking at student achievement and assessing how confident teachers are in using specific problem-solving strategies.

UCCS spokesman Tom Hutton said the Eagle County work is another step in the center’s effort to expand the model throughout Colorado.  A similar program has been going on in the Pikes Peak region for several years, he said.